First National Security Multi-Missions Vessel, the Empire State VII, Arrives In New York

On Monday, SUNY Maritime College, situated in the Bronx, NY, welcomed the much-awaited arrival of a brand new, one-of-a-kind training vessel, the Empire State VII, earmarking a new era of training for the upcoming Merchant Mariners.

The vessel is the first of five new government-owned National Security Multi-Missions Vessels (abbreviated the NSMVs), specially designed for the dual purpose of service as a state-of-the-art training platform for five state maritime academies and aiding with disaster and humanitarian help in times of emergency.

Empire State VII was successfully delivered to the U.S. Maritime Administration in September 2023 by Philly Shipyard based in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The Philly Shipyard was picked for building five NSMVs by Tote Services, which served as the Vessel Construction Manager of the program.

This is an exciting day for Maritime College as the welcoming of the Empire State VII to its home port takes place, mentioned RADM Michael Alfultis, the SUNY Maritime College President, who has played an instrumental role in engaging with the Congress to get these vessels built.

The next-gen training vessel will offer cadets the most advanced tech in the shipping and maritime industry. It will ensure they are prepared to operate and maintain ships as licensed engineers and deck officers. They appreciate and acknowledge the National Security multimission vessel mission’s bipartisan support of state maritime academies. They further understand the help of Kathy Hochul, New York’s Governor, and John B. King, the SUNY Chancellor.

Each NSMV will be enabled with lucrative instructional spaces, a training bridge, and room for nearly 600 cadets to train while at sea. Besides serving as a training and educational forum, the NSMVs will also provide a helicopter pad, advanced hospital facilities, and the ability to accommodate about 1,000 individuals in humanitarian missions. They will also have roll-on or roll-off and container storage capacity for their disaster relief missions.

SUNY Maritime College will officially welcome the vessel with an Arrival and Delivery Ceremony on Friday.

In 2024, the second NSMV will be delivered successfully to the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, followed by NSMV III to the Maine Maritime Academy. It follows NSMV IV to the Texas A&M Maritime Academy and NSMV V to the California Maritime Academy. The planned five deliveries are likely to take place by the year 2026.

References: sunymaritime.edu

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Source: Maritime Shipping News