Some colleges and universities well known here in Maine may not be known at a similar institution in Russia or China. But, the Maine Maritime Academy is well known and recognized as a leading maritime college at similar maritime institutions around the world, including Russia and China. The Massachusetts Maritime Academy was established in 1891 on Cape Cod and is the oldest continuously operated U.S. maritime academy. The State University of New York Maritime Academy at King’s Point was established around 1874. Most of the other U.S. maritime academies were established in the 1940s. In 1936, following a maritime disaster, Congress passed the Merchant Marine Act to foster improved maritime training programs. Maine Maritime was established in 1941, as a response to World War II. In the late 1930s, German submarines were sinking hundreds of merchant ships. Many of them were American ships supplying England and its allies, who were suffering under a German submarine blockade of their ports. The attacks on American merchant shipping drew the United States into World War II in the European theater, late in 1941. In response to these losses and the country’s official entry into the war, America began building “Liberty” ships at the phenomenal rate of one every seven days at each yard commissioned to build them. The effort produced over 5,000 merchant ships; 2,710 of them Liberty ships. These economically built, 400-foot cargo ships were mass-produced, using assembly line techniques. The first of them, launched in September, 1941, was named the Patrick Henry, after the American revolutionary known for having said, “Give me liberty or give me death.” This connection led to these ships being referred to as Liberty ships. The shipbuilding boom meant a boom in demand for qualified officers and engineers. The Maine legislature, with the leadership of Ralph Leavitt, Senator and owner of Portland-based Chase Leavitt Company, passed “An Act Creating the Maine Nautical School.” The name was changed to the Maine Maritime Academy in 1942. The first class of 29 began in October, 1941. By the end of the war in 1945, 384 men had graduated. In the last 64 years MMA it has grown into an accredited four-year college with a graduate program. Beyond the original two-part program of training officers and engineers, the academy has added programs in marine biology, marine science, small vessel operation, generating systems, international business and transportation management, and others. The campus is located in Castine (pop. 1300), a town with a long maritime history, as well as a strategic location. That location was the site of the French Fort Pentagoet in the mid 1600s. This stone trading station was excavated in the 1980s. Castine, in the 1700s, was the home of wealthy merchants and captains. Some of them were Loyalists who moved to Canada during the revolution, a few of them disassembled their large houses and took them along. Strategic as the location is, overlooking the entrance to Penobscot Bay, this was not what led the Academy to the town. The academy needed buildings with classrooms, dormitories and dining halls and needed them in a hurry. It happened that a normal school (teachers college) had recently closed its doors in Castine and then Maine Maritime Academy moved in.
These two programs are still a part of the Academy’s curriculum and remain the only “regimented” programs, those where uniforms are worn. But the Maine Maritime Academy is not a military institution, it is a Maine state institution and all other programs do not require uniforms. In the regimented Unlimited License program, the management training model follows the military’s hierarchy, where the captain is in charge with a chain of command, etc. The need for students to practice being and following a leader is the foundation for sound judgement at sea. In the unlimited license program officers are trained to operate large ships at sea and uniforms are worn. Within this regimented context merchant mariners are commercial professional transportation managers. After the war, programs were expanded to a three-year course leading to a Bachelors degree. During the 1960s there was a multi-million dollar development plan that culminated with fully-accredited membership in the New England Association of Schools and Colleges. In 2004, U.S. News & World Report cited Maine Maritime Academy in the category of “Best Undergraduate Engineering Programs” in its national survey. MMA tied with 10 others for 49th position in the category and was the only one of the nation’s six state maritime academies to make this particular list. The student body currently numbers 845; about 16 percent are women students. The percentage of women students is closer to 50 percent in the Marine Biology and Marine Science programs. In addition to its original mission of training officers and engineers for the merchant marine, MMA has expanded its curriculum to include a number of other areas. In 1986 new majors were added; there are now three degrees offered in 19 undergraduate and graduate academic programs. A few of them are: • Small Vessel Training on vessels from yachts to tugs. Students learn about the ocean under sail, studying currents, et cetera. They may later work on tall ships, schooners or large yachts. The Academy’s sail training schooner is the Arctic Schooner Bowdoin, built at East Boothbay by Hodgdon Bros. in 1921. It has made 27 trips across the Arctic Circle. The vessel is used for research projects in marine biology, oceanography and sailing; • The Power Engineering Technology program trains operators and engineers for land-based power plants, including paper company power plants. In fact, many of the State’s power plants, including paper company power plants, are operated by Maine Maritime Academy graduates; • Marine biology; • The International Business and Logistics program focuses on shipping business logistics, which currently takes a cargo from a factory and takes it through various stages of shipping until the final product is shipped to the end user; • The Marine Operations program is closest to the original marine program. Students who want to go to sea are enrolled in this program. Training cruises go around the world to Europe and South America on The State Of Maine, a 500-foot former naval vessel. Shifts rotate in a four-day schedule, there is one day off per port visit and 10-14 days at sea on the way out and again returning; • Global Supply Chain Management focuses on shipping business logistics, which currently takes a cargo from a factory and takes it through various stages of shipping until the final product is shipped to the end user.
The preparation for LNG officers is more demanding. An officer can go from a cargo vessel to a tanker, but not to an LNG vessel. An officer can transfer to an LNG vessel from a tanker with LNG certification. The handling of the cargo, re-gasification, as well as other matters, all require LNG certification. The gas companies don’t yet have enough ships to train officers, so competition is stiff for existing officer positions. Before the Academy, seamen became seamen by “coming through the hawsepipe.” That is, they managed to get aboard somehow to work at whatever entry level they could, and worked their way to “able seaman.” Before the introduction of maritime engines all the work was on deck. Raising, adjusting and lowering sails, using hundreds of ropes was what drove the ship and learning the ropes was basic training. With the coming of the marine engine entry level was as a “wiper,” wiping oil in the engine room. Today the engineering is far more complex in the engine room and the deck is run with high tech computers and navigation equipment that is constantly changing. The new LNG carrier is an example of a new level of the complex and sophisticated technology aboard modern vessels. The licensing regulations now reflect these changes in marine technology. Ten years ago a license could be maintained if the holder signed a document every two years stating that they had taken a physical. A license could be held with no sea experience in 20 years. Now the changes in technology and regulations are too rapid and complex. Requirements and systems are being standardized worldwide. Today, the “hawsepipe” is Maine Maritime Academy. To learn more about MMA, visit the school’s comprehensive website at www.mainemaritime.edu.
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