Summer at Sea: SUNY Training Ship Sets Sail
On May 12th, SUNY Maritime College’s 2014 Summer Sea Term (SST) officially began with the departure of the Empire State VI.
Hundreds of proud parents, friends, along with the rest of SUNY’s campus lined the pier at Fort Schuyler for the ship’s departure; recently graduated cadets excitedly stood aboard the vessel tipping their hats and waving goodbye. With the ship's horns blasting, the training ship slipped its moorings and glided into the confluence of the East River and Long Island Sound with the help of two McAllister tugs.
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Throughout the working ship, faint yells of bridge commands were overheard, while other trainees were performing operational duties. During the SST, Cadets acquire vital hands-on experience in managing and maintaining a sea-going vessel required for those students working toward their U.S. Coast Guard License. Under the direction of Captain Rick Smith, ’81, SUNY Maritime College’s Commandant of Cadets, the Empire State VI will make port calls in New Orleans, LA; St. John’s, Newfoundland; Dublin, Ireland as well as other European port cities. The Empire State VI will return to the Maritime Campus in early August.
Overall, it was a picture perfect day for the start of the journey. The excitement of the more than 650 Cadets from SUNY Maritime College, Texas and Maine Maritime Academies was contagious for all. This SST will mark the school's 141st training cruise.
The State University of New York Maritime College held its May Commencement Ceremony on Friday, May 9, 2014 on the SUNY Maritime campus.
Approximately 220 students received degrees during the ceremonies.
Degrees were conferred for Master of Science in International Transportation Management; Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering, Facilities Engineering, Marine Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, and Naval Architecture; for Bachelor of Science in General Engineering, General Marine Business and Commerce with Humanities Study Area Concentration, International Transportation and Trade, Marine Environmental Science, Marine Operations, Maritime Studies, Marine Transportation; and for Associate of Applied Science in Marine Technology Small Vessel Operations.
T/S Empire State VI
SUNY’s current training ship was laid down as SS OREGON at Newport News Shipbuilding and Drydock Company, Newport News, Virginia. The vessel was built for States Steamship Company and was launched on September 16, 1961. She was delivered to her owners in February of 1962 for service in the Pacific trades. In the 1970s, the vessel was purchased by Moore McCormack Lines for the South American trade. She was renamed MORMACTIDE and operated by that company until 1982 when she was taken out of service. The vessel changed ownership on more time. United States Lines purchased the vessel but did not have the opportunity to operate her. She was turned over to the Federal Government and laid up in the Reserve Fleet in the James River in December 1982.
In November of 1988, the MORMACTIDE was taken under tow through the St. Lawrence Seaway to Bay Shipbuilding Corporation in Sturgeon Bay, Wisconsin. There the vessel was converted to a public nautical training ship and re-named EMPIRE STATE VI. She was delivered to the State University of New York Maritime College on December 31, 1989.
The Empire State VI is the only registered troopship maintained as part of the US Navy's Ready Reserve Force, prefixed the T-AP 1001. The Empire State VI was also activated in 1994 to transport American soldiers home from Mogadishu, Somalia, the first time a troopship was used to transport soldiers since 1968 in Vietnam.
With twenty years of service to the Maritime College (as of 2010), the Empire State VI holds the record as the longest serving power driven training vessel the school has ever owned. She is expected to remain in operation until at least 2020.
SUNY Maritime College is the oldest and largest maritime college in the nation. Founded in 1874 by the Marine Society of the City of New York, SUNY Maritime is a four-year college, which offers a solid academic program coupled with a structured cadet life in the regiment for both men and women.