In a statement the US Department of Transportationoffshoot said each of the schools will receive a $1m grant made possible by thescrapping of obsolete tonnage tied to the agency’s NationalDefense Reserve Fleet.
The list of recipientsincludes the California Maritime Academy, Great Lakes Maritime Academy, MaineMaritime Academy, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, SUNY Maritime College andTexas Maritime Academy.
Under a law known as theNational Maritime Heritage Act, MarAd noted 25% of the funds that come from thesale of obsolete tonnage must be distributed to US maritime academies for the maintenanceand modernisation of facilities and ships, fuel and other purposes.
Another 25% must be applied toward what itdescribed as “maritime heritage activities” and the remaining 50% is used tofund the acquisition, maintenance, and repair of vessels in the NationalDefense Reserve Fleet, the agency said Thursday.
Over the past five years MarAd claims it has providedmore than $8.9m in funding generated by the sale of ageing vessels to the UnitedStates Merchant Marine Academy and other academic institutions that educate thenation’s merchant mariners.
