MARAD Cancels Deployment and Returns Training Ship Empire State to SUNY
Three weeks after the training ship Empire State arrived in Virginia for preparations for a government mission, MARAD has notified the SUNY Maritime College at Fort Schuyler that it is releasing the ship. The school announced the change in plans to its community on October 21.
“I am pleased to share an important update on Empire State VII. The federal activation plan has changed, and the ship is now expected to return to Fort Schuyler for academic use, ship work, and with watches resuming no later than the middle of November,” wrote Rear Admiral John A. Okon, who is president of SUNY Maritime College.
He called the development “welcome news,” highlighting that the vessel is “an essential part of the maritime experience." Having the ship back at Fort Schuyler will allow us to resume the critical hands-on learning, shipboard activities, and sea time requirements for our USCG-approved program.”
Details on the return to the campus are still to be announced, as well as the steps that will be required for the ship to resume its normal mission. News of the deployment had been released at the end of August, and the ship departed the New York campus on September 30, shifting the ship to Virginia. She was spotted at the General Dynamics NASSCO facility in Portsmouth sandwiched between Reserve Fleet vessels and a destroyer.
The ship was scheduled to spend October in Virginia, being prepared for the mission. Details of the deployment had not been announced, but Okon had said MARAD was undertaking “certification of the flight deck.” Rumors had said the ship was going to sail to Diego Garcia.
that matters most
Get the latest maritime news delivered to your inbox daily.
The vessel, which was delivered to SUNY in 2023 as the first of the new generation of training ships, was designed to support government missions. It was primarily anticipated that it would have a dual role for humanitarian support. The ship normally accommodates approximately 600 but can be equipped for up to approximately 1,000 and, as part of its humanitarian capabilities, has a full hospital aboard.
It was the first activation of the new ships since they had begun delivery to the state maritime schools. Massachusetts, Maine, and recently Texas have received their vessels. The training ship for California is still under construction in Philadelphia.
