By Maria Miranda.
Patriot State, a training ship that is part of the U.S. Maritime Administration’s National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) program, will host more than 100 Puerto Rican high school students on Saturday for an orientation about maritime careers and educational opportunities.
Staff from the Massachusetts Maritime Academy (MMA) will guide students on programs such as emergency management, energy systems engineering and marine engineering, Tote Maritime General Manager Eduardo Pagán told News is my Business in an interview.
Students registered for Saturday’s event will visit the vessel from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. in groups of about 40. The goal is to familiarize them with the opportunities in the maritime sector, encourage applications to maritime academies, and highlight career pathways that include roles as ship officers, technical officials and engineers in various industries.
The Patriot State is the second of five state-of-the-art vessels constructed by Tote Services, a sister company of Tote Maritime, under the NSMV program. Commissioned in 2017, the fleet is designed to train new cadets while also serving as a resource during emergencies.
“These ships are literally schools on water,” Pagán said. “These ships are known as National Security Multi-Mission Vessels and have a dual purpose: They teach new cadets and they also are used to help in emergencies that could occur in some U.S. states.”
He added that “what makes these ships really special is that they are designed with capacity for 600 cadets, at the same time that they are being practically trained in maritime-related areas, and it has some 160 staff divided between ship’s crew and professors.”
The ship is equipped with eight classrooms, working laboratories and simulators. It also has the capacity to hold about 30 containers that can be used to transport goods in case of emergencies, such as hurricanes.
The vessel also includes hospital facilities and can shelter about 1,000 people, including crew and additional passengers, during disasters, Pagán said.
The Empire State, which is the first vessel in the NSMV fleet, was completed in late 2023 and is operated by the SUNY Maritime College in New York. The three remaining vessels are expected to be completed by 2026.
“This is an incredible opportunity for young Puerto Ricans since there are some challenges in being able to find well-paying jobs, and this sector has a great deal of opportunities for them, as the salaries and compensations are very well remunerated,” Pagán said.
“We are expecting more than 150 teenagers to come on Saturday to participate in the orientations,” he said. “In their majority, these are teenagers in high school, and some come from military academies. These students can work as ship officers, technical officials, engineers in various industries and more.”
Pagán noted that Puerto Rico’s maritime industry supports more than 2,000 jobs, contributes over $96 million in wages and generates $221 million in economic output.
This article originally appeared on News is my Business on January 24, 2025.
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