Texas A&M
Galveston to get new training ship
Pending approval by the U.S. Navy to transfer
title to the Maritime Administration (MARAD), a much larger ship
will be assigned by MARAD as the new training ship for the Texas
Maritime Academy at Texas A&M University at Galveston. The former
U.S. Navy vessel Sirius recently arrived at the Mitchell Campus on
Pelican Island. The ship, at 524 feet dwarfs the 393’ ship that it
is replacing. The retiring TEXAS CLIPPER II is currently at sea
with the University’s Maritime Corps of Cadets on their annual
training cruise and will return to Galveston on July 16, 2005.
The Port of Galveston will help the Aggies welcome the new vessel
to its new home port on Wednesday, July 20 with a “Maiden Voyage
Ceremony” to be conducted on the Texas A&M University at Galveston
campus at 2:00 p.m. The general public is invited for this special
event. Tours of the new training ship will take place immediately
following the ceremony. Please wear closed-toe shoes with low
heels.
When the Maritime Corps of
Cadets returns to Galveston on July 16, they will engage in two
weeks of “cross-decking” equipment off the Texas Clipper II and
moving it to their new ship.
“This ship will be an excellent training platform for our cadets,
give the them room to expand, afford opportunities for use beyond
cadet training and will be the flagship of the maritime
academies,” said Dr. Bowen Loftin, Vice President and CEO of
TAMUG.
The USNS Sirius was recently
decommissioned as one of three combat stores ships. The ship
performed underway replenishments for the United States Navy all
over the world and most recently in the Persian Gulf. It was
originally built in Great Britain as a Royal Navy replenishment
ship, and later acquired by the U.S. Navy because of the increased
logistics demands created by maintaining two carrier battle groups
in the Indian Ocean during the Iranian hostage crisis.
The ship has a top speed of 18
knots and displaces about 16,800 tons. The Texas Clipper II, which
has been used for training since 1996, will be returned to MARAD’s
National Defense Reserve Fleet.
Texas A&M University at Galveston is a branch campus of Texas A&M
University and hosts one of six state maritime academies in the
United States and the only academy on the Gulf Coast. Operating
the state’s maritime academy is part of the special purpose
mission of Texas A&M University at Galveston where over 1600
students study various marine and maritime career fields.
For more information contact Teri Fowle at (281) 455-1971
SLIDE SHOW OF SHIP COMING INTO PORT
SLIDE SHOW OF SHIP INTERIOR
Texas A&M University Galveston · PO Box 1675 · Galveston, Texas 77553-1675 · Toll Free 1-87-Sea-Aggie
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