www.dot.gov/affairs/briefing.htm

TS State of Michigan Begins Inaugural Training Cruise

The U.S. Department of Transportation Maritime Administration’s Training Ship State of Michigan, which began its first training cruise on Thursday, May 22, will call at Ludington, MI; Muskegon, MI; Chicago; Port Huron, MI; Detroit; Cleveland; and Sault Ste Marie, MI, before returning to the Great Lakes Maritime Academy (GLMA) on June 3. The U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) assigned the 225-foot vessel to the academy at Traverse City, MI.

The vessel was formerly the U.S. Navy Ship Persistent, and had operated for two years as a drug-interdiction support ship for the U.S. Coast Guard before it was decommissioned and made available for transfer. MARAD is the agency of the U.S. Department of Transportation with the mission of ensuring a healthy merchant marine and maritime industry, and it makes such ships available for maritime training and education.

The Great Lakes Maritime Academy is affiliated with Northwestern Michigan College. The academy trains men and women to serve as merchant marine officers aboard Great Lakes and ocean ships. The inaugural training cruise of the State of Michigan will take it through three of the five Great Lakes.

"This training cruise is a benchmark event for Great Lakes Maritime Academy," said Superintendent John Tanner. "Our faculty, staff, cadets and alumni could not be more proud. It is our goal to educate people throughout the Great Lakes to become aware of the Merchant Marine and GLMA. This vessel illustrates how the federal government and colleges can work together toward a common goal."

# # #