Congressmen Vow to Block Plan to Use Training Ship for Deportations
“Hands off the Golden Bear,” Congressman John Garamendi and Salud Carbajal of California declared, vowing to block any attempt by the Trump administration to use the retiring training ship Golden Bear to conduct deportations. The senior members of the House Armed Services Committee and Transportation and Infrastructure Committee are saying the plan, which is reportedly under consideration, would have “enormous operational, safety, and legal challenges,” while calling it “deeply inhumane.”
News of the possible “prison ship” operation to deport illegal migrants being rounded up by ICE (U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement) was first reported at the beginning of the month by The New York Times. The paper quoted unnamed Department of Defense officials who said it was a preliminary discussion and still hypothetical but called for using ships to move the detainees to Central America or South America.
The training ship Golden Bear, operated for Cal Poly Maritime Academy in Solano, California, was identified as one likely ship for the operation. Commissioned by the U.S. Navy in 1989 as USNS Maury, a hydrographic survey vessel used to map the deep ocean, the ship was, along with her sister USNS Tanner (later the training ship State of Maine), the fastest oceanographic ship built. Cal Poly denies the rumors that the ship was used for spy missions of “black” ops, but the Navy retired both vessels in 1994 and transferred them to MARAD. USNS Maury was outfitted as the training ship Golden Bear and transferred to the then Cal Maritime in 1996.
The ship is 500 feet (153 meters) in length and 12,500 gross tons. It was reportedly outfitted to accommodate approximately 300 cadets and operates with a permanent crew of 39. The ship recently completed its final training cruise, and the maritime academy, now known as Cal Poly Maritime Academy, hosted a farewell celebration on October 9 after 30 years of service.
Golden Bear is being handed back to MARAD for eventual decommissioning as Cal Poly awaits the delivery of its new training ship, Golden State. The new ship is scheduled to be christened in Philadelphia by the summer of 2027 before her delivery to California. Cal Poly Maritime will share training with Lone Star State and State of Maine in 2027 before the vessel arrives in California. The new training ship will begin her role as a maritime campus in 2027, and she will undertake her first Summer Sea Term in 2028.
The New York Times reported the Department of Defense was discussing using the now retired Golden Bear for the deportations and had also reached out to companies about ships in Europe. The New York Times wrote of the plan, “It is not clear why officials are entertaining such an unusual plan, considering the logistical challenges, high cost, and checkered history of deportations by sea." It points out that in 1956 the United States attempted to use ships to deport Mexicans from California, including a disastrous trip where 40 passengers jumped overboard and five drowned from a ship near Tampico, Mexico.
“Mark my words, Donald Trump, Markwayne Mullin, and ICE will never use the Golden Bear for their mass deportation agenda,” said Congressman Garamendi. “Not only is deporting migrants by ship impractical, but it’s also deeply inhumane.”
The Congressmen cite a cost of millions of dollars to taxpayers and assert that the plan is an attempt to shift the deportations (and their costs) onto the Department of Defense budget. Currently, the Trump administration and the Department of Homeland Security have used planes and detention centers for the individuals they are arresting, while also encouraging self deportation.
“If the Trump administration follows through on this proposal, it would represent another escalation of their brutal immigration enforcement tactics,” said Congressman Carbajal.
that matters most
Get the latest maritime news delivered to your inbox daily.
No timeline was released for the possible operation, but local newspapers cite increased immigration enforcement in California. It was expected to run for at least 45 days into November.
Golden Bear was moved to Mare Island Dry Dock as the first step in her transfer back to MARAD. Her sister ship, State of Maine, was officially scheduled for return to the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) in late July 2026. A third former training ship, TS Kennedy, was officially retired and returned to the Maritime Administration (MARAD) on September 16, 2025.
