Maritime College Announces Activation of Training Ship Empire State

[By SUNY (New York) Maritime College]
 
Maritime College has announced that a decision memorandum from the Maritime Administrator, Stephen M. Carmel has been received, outlining that MARAD will be activating Empire State for temporary federal service, commencing approximately September 1, 2026, for a notional mission duration of approximately 170 days. 

Over the upcoming weeks the school’s obligation is to prepare the vessel for federal use and remain focused on efforts on what Maritime College does every day: educate and develop the next generation of maritime leaders. 

The President of Maritime College, RADM John Okon ’91 said “As we enter a new academic year, the timing and duration of this activation pose significant challenges to the College’s academic and training programs. We know that whatever comes next, we will face it together, with our students first and our mission always at the forefront. I am fully confident in our ability to meet this challenge as a Maritime College family. We have faced moments of uncertainty before, from Somalia to Hurricanes Katrina, Harvey, and Sandy, and each time, we adapted, persevered, and continued to deliver on our mission. For more than 150 years, Maritime College has demonstrated the agility and resilience required to navigate changing circumstances. We will draw on that same strength today. We will work closely with MARAD and SUNY, advocate for our students and our institution, and do everything within our ability to minimize the impact of this deployment on our students, our College, and our mission.”

Empire State is federally owned and is the nation’s first purpose-built National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV), specifically designed to provide State Maritime Academies with a modern, adaptable platform for maritime education and training. For SUNY Maritime College, this state-of-the-art vessel is more than a training ship, it is our greatest classroom and laboratory and an integral part of our students’ academic and comprehensive educational experience.

The approximately 170-day activation would represent the longest deployment of Empire State in recent history. SUNY Maritime is already working to pivot coursework, training schedules, and other academic experiences to ensure our students remain on track to meet their educational, licensing, and graduation requirements while the vessel is deployed.

SUNY Maritime’s current enrollment is 1685 students for Fall 2026 and 1150 of those students are members of the regiment who have classes/training on the ship.