MMA training cruise to visit Europe, Canada

CASTINE – The ports-of-call for the Maine Maritime Academy training ship the State of Maine have been selected for the ship’s annual spring voyage, academy officials announced Friday.

The two-month training cruise will stop in Gibraltar; Odessa, Ukraine; Split, Croatia, with a stop in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on the way home. Finally, the State of Maine will stop in Rockland, where families of the sailors may join them for the last few miles to Castine.

Students, officers and crew will board the ship Friday, May 4, for a week of preparation before they leave harbor at 10:30 a.m. Tuesday, May 8. However, due to heightened shipboard security, the vessel will not be open to the public for tours while in domestic or foreign ports. Well-wishers are still welcome to see the ship off and watch its return from the MMA waterfront.

The ship is expected to arrive back in Castine Harbor around 6:30 p.m. Saturday, June 30.

Students pursuing an officer’s license from the U.S. Coast Guard are required to train at sea for at least 60 days through their first three years at MMA. Freshmen and juniors sail aboard the State of Maine, while sophomores are assigned to various merchant ships around the globe.

In past years, cruises have stopped in Aruba, Bermuda, Brazil, Belgium, Estonia, France, Germany, Great Britain, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Poland, Russia, Spain and numerous other European and Caribbean countries.

The stop in Odessa will mark the first time the cruise has visited a Black Sea port. The Odessa National Maritime Academy will host the visiting ship. ONMA is a fellow member of the International Association of Maritime Universities – a worldwide network among maritime universities that was established in 1999.

The 500-foot, 16,000-ton State of Maine, formerly USNS Tanner, was originally a Navy oceanographic research vessel. MMA converted it in 1997 to accommodate the training needs of the college.

MMA students and staff are also coordinating an interactive Web site to help the public track the location of the ship. The site is in its fifth year of operation and covers the training ship from several perspectives. To access this information, visit www.mma.edu.