Long trek to Lone Star State sparked plan for SC maritime academy

The Citadel in Charleston would be home to the nation’s eighth maritime academy under a proposal by state Rep. Tom Hartnett Jr. of Charleston. (Photo by Ed Wray/provided by The Citadel)

by David Wren, SC Daily Gazette, August 8, 2025. With more than 1,100 miles to think while driving from Charleston to Galveston, Texas, three years ago, state Rep. Tom Hartnett Jr. found himself asking the same question again and again. Why doesn’t South Carolina have its own maritime academy? Hartnett was taking his son, Rhett, […]