Two major issues face US maritime education and training in 2017. First, the new administration must be made aware of the vital role the six state maritime academies play in ensuring the nation maintains a sufficient pool of licensed mariners. Second, maritime academies must assess current curricula and determine what programs should be added to meet the future needs of the maritime industry, based on the increasing pace of technological and regulatory changes.
The state maritime academies produce 70 percent of the licensed mariners each year. These mariners support national security sealift needs and a strong economy. A key component of the state maritime academies’ programs are their training ships, which are rapidly aging and need to be replaced with a new class of National Security Multimission Vessels. These new ships will be used for mariner training and to support other missions such as disaster response and humanitarian assistance. They will also provide a much-needed stimulus for our domestic shipyards.
The second major issue has to do with curricular and programmatic transformations driven by technological and regulatory changes. As the transportation network becomes increasingly integrated and complex, maritime academies must take the lead in preparing industry professionals who understand the technology that supports the international transportation industry. This will require development of new programs, especially in areas of finance, data management and analysis, cybersecurity, and risk-based decision-making. State maritime academies need to understand the industry’s future needs, determine gaps in existing curricula, and decide where and how to make necessary changes. This requires coordination with international organizations, governmental bodies, and all segments of the maritime and multimodal transportation industries.
To that end, more than 200 industry and government professionals, students and faculty attended the Maritime Security Conference this past fall at Maritime College. The resulting discussions confirmed the pressing need to provide robust cybersecurity education and training for the future maritime workforce. Unanswered, this gap will threaten our transportation infrastrure, economy, and, ultimately, our national security.