Re: State of Michigan
Posted: October 4, 2022, 8:26 am
Replacement of the State of Michigan is inevitable, but likely far off in the future. The new training ships being built for the other universities have accommodations for 600 cadets which a bit overkill for GLMA. The new ships are also replacing very aged ships, in some cases steamships 50+ years old like the Empire State IV and possibly the Kennedy at Mass Maritime (not positive about the latter).
GLMA needs a smaller training ship, particularly as their cadets serve more time on commercial ships compared to other schools. What makes the newbuild program achievable is economics of scale, building 5 identical ships. To build a one-off, smaller ship for GLMA would likely cost as much or more than the new vessels now being constructed. Remember, GLMA lobbied for a training ship only to be taken as seriously as other schools, it was never intended to be a main source of sea time. While attendance at GLMA has increased they are not as reliant as other schools with larger student bodies to meet the sailing time requirements. If GLMA cannot place all cadets on commercial ships, the question should be asked if the enrolment matches job demand and what students are doing after graduation because there seems to be a major shortage of available reliefs for mates and engineers on the lakes.
GLMA needs a smaller training ship, particularly as their cadets serve more time on commercial ships compared to other schools. What makes the newbuild program achievable is economics of scale, building 5 identical ships. To build a one-off, smaller ship for GLMA would likely cost as much or more than the new vessels now being constructed. Remember, GLMA lobbied for a training ship only to be taken as seriously as other schools, it was never intended to be a main source of sea time. While attendance at GLMA has increased they are not as reliant as other schools with larger student bodies to meet the sailing time requirements. If GLMA cannot place all cadets on commercial ships, the question should be asked if the enrolment matches job demand and what students are doing after graduation because there seems to be a major shortage of available reliefs for mates and engineers on the lakes.