Training Ship Golden Bear Nears End of its Final Voyage After 30 Years
The last of the older U.S. state maritime school training ships, the Golden Bear, is preparing for her retirement after completing her final training cruise. One of the older ships that was used to train merchant mariners, the ship will be replaced in 2027 by the last of the National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) program being implemented by the Maritime Administration (MARAD).
Golden Bear is scheduled to return to Vallejo, California, on July 6, following the completion of Summer Sea Term 2026. She is bringing home 283 Cal Poly Maritime Academy cadets after a 12,500-mile voyage across the Pacific Ocean. This year's voyage took cadets across the Pacific Ocean with port calls in San Diego, Tahiti, Fiji, and Honolulu.
Along the way, students stood watch on the bridge and in the engine room, operated complex ship systems, participated in emergency drills, and developed the skills required of future maritime officers.
It is a bittersweet moment for the staff and crew. For three decades, Golden Bear has served as a floating classroom where thousands of cadets transformed classroom knowledge into practical experience at sea.
“Golden Bear has helped prepare generations of maritime professionals through hands-on training at sea,” said Rear Adm. Eric C. Jones, U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.), superintendent of Cal Poly Maritime Academy. “More than a training vessel, Golden Bear represented an ethos that has guided the education of maritime leaders at this academy for nearly a century. We are grateful for the ship’s service and the role it has played in shaping thousands of careers.”
She, along with another now former training ship, was built in the 1990s for the U.S. Navy as the fastest and largest oceanographic ship in the United States fleet. Known as USNS Maury (T-AGS-39) she was delivered to the Navy on March 31, 1989. However, her career would be short, as in 1994 she was placed out of service.
USNS Maury was transferred to California Maritime Academy on May 4, 1996, and rechristened as the TS Golden Bear. Her sister ship USNS Tanner (T-AGS-40), followed a year later, being delivered to the Maine Maritime Academy and assuming her role as a training ship, TS State of Maine, in June 1997.
The transition to the new training ship comes as the academy is also in transition. Founded in 1901, it became part of the California State University system in 1960. Cal Maritime recently merged with Cal Poly as part of a reorganization of the state school program. Now known as Cal Poly Maritime Academy, it remains the West Coast’s only degree-granting maritime academy.
The Academy has been operating its school at sea which began with Training Ship California State (1931–1946). Since then, there has been a series of Golden Bear vessels, including the first Training Ship Golden Bear (1946–1971), the second Training Ship Golden Bear (1971–1995), and the third and current Training Ship Golden Bear, which has been in service since 1996.
The fourth training ship, Lone Star State, recently conducted her sea trials (TOTE photo courtesy of Texas A&M Maritime)
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Cal Poly Maritime Academy is preparing for the arrival of new Golden State, a National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) that will become the academy’s next training ship. Expected to arrive in Vallejo in 2027, Golden State will provide expanded training capabilities, modern instructional spaces and new opportunities for hands-on learning at sea. She is the fifth vessel of the class, with New York, Massachusetts, and Maine having already deployed their ships on training missions.
Texas A&M Maritime Academy reported in June that its new vessel, Lone Star State, had returned from sea trials after spending several days off the coast of Delaware and Virginia testing propulsion and safety systems. The team reported that all went well, and only minor deficiencies needed to be corrected before delivery. The ship is nearing completion, and additional system startup and commissioning is ongoing.