Abrams Marine Group has acquired Mid-Atlantic Maritime Academy (MAMA) of Norfolk, Va. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Dave Abrams, CEO of Abrams Marine Group, also owns Training Resources Maritime Institute in San Diego. He intends to merge the two centers into a single organization that will be the largest maritime training company in the United States.
Abrams intends to rename the training organization once the merger is complete. For now, he said, the companies will operate “independently but collaboratively” to maximize training opportunities for mariners.
“MAMA is a great training organization with a highly regarded team and world-class facilities,” Abrams said in a prepared statement. “The company is located in a strategic location for the growth of both our defense and commercial business segments.”
Both training centers are located near major U.S. Navy installations, along with busy ports that collectively employ thousands of mariners. MAMA also has invested in offshore wind training to meet demand for future growth in that industry.
“Virginia and California are both primed for growth in the maritime sector with offshore energy, defense growth and a continued increase in maritime commerce,” said Ed Nanartowich, president of MAMA. “We will be there to develop current and future generations of mariners to support that growth.”
Training Resources Maritime Institute also owns Maritime Publishing, the parent company of Professional Mariner magazine and professionalmariner.com.