SUNY Maritime College announced on January 10 that 227 cadets are shipping out on a 3-week training program.  Cadets pursuing a US Coast Guard license as part of their academic program must complete three seagoing experiences, including Summer Sea Terms (SST) and/or Cadet Shipping (on commercial or government-owned civilian-crewed ships).  For the first time, SUNY Maritime students will obtain sea term training during the winter academic term session.  Sea term and Cadet shipping provide cadets with valuable hands-on learning on board a ship. 

The Empire State VII is a state-of-the-art new training ship owned by the federal government and operated by SUNY Maritime College.  It is the first of five multi-mission ships built to support mariner education and training at the six state maritime academies in the US.  This 3-week cruise will be her maiden voyage.  This National Security Multi-Mission Vessel - an entirely new design and class of vessel - is optimized to be a training platform and to respond to national disasters.  In the past, the previous training ship Empire State VI and the other state maritime academy training ships assisted with relief efforts for hurricanes Katrina, Sandy, Harvey, Irma, and Maria.

The President of SUNY Maritime College, Rear Adm. Michael Alfultis, Ph.D., said, "It is critical that we are able to give the students at SUNY Maritime the best education and most up-to-date training available in order to continue to graduate licensed mariners in the thriving maritime industry.  Our national defense and economy are dependent upon mariners.  There is currently a nationwide shortage of mariners, and Maritime College has an important role in graduating US licensed mariners to crew ships that are vital to our economy and provide logistical support for our operational forces in peace and conflict."