GALVESTON, Texas — For 12 years, cadets at Texas A&M University at Galveston have not exactly had a ship to call their own.
The Galveston County Daily News reports that since the departure of the Texas Clipper II in 2005, the school hasn’t had a training ship large enough to accommodate all the 300 or so students enrolled in Texas A&M Maritime Academy.
The Sea Aggies’ current training ship, the General Rudder, is small. The Rudder, which arrived in Galveston in 2012, has capacity for only about 50 students at a time.
Cadets need to sail a specified number of hours to earn a certification that will set them up for maritime careers, whether in the U.S. Coast Guard or aboard a merchant ship.
The university has in recent months launched a campaign to get a full-sized ship back on campus, Col. Mike Fossum, the chief operating officer at Texas A&M University at Galveston, said.
The effort is about holding the federal Maritime Administration to its word to replace the Clipper, which was called back into federal service after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Fossum said.
The school already has gotten a resolution of support from Galveston County commissioners, and U.S. Rep. Randy Weber helped arrange a meeting between school administrators and the maritime administration.
“The Maritime Academy needs a ship that adequately fits the needs of our cadets,” Weber said. “Unfortunately, the current vessel simply does not. We are working closely with the U.S. Maritime Administration to get our Ags a proper vessel.”
