NEWS RELEASE

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

June 7, 2007

For More Information Contact:

Karen Bigley, Director of Media Relations and Communications

Office: (409) 740-4830

Texas Maritime Academy Signs LNG Agreement on Training Standards

      Washington, D.C. – Rear Admiral Allen B. Worley, superintendent of the Texas Maritime Academy at Texas A&M University at Galveston joined Maritime Administrator Sean T. Connaughton and representatives from several other agencies in Washington for the signing of an agreement that enacts a universal set of training standards for U.S. mariners on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) tankers.

      The agreement delineates training standards developed by an industry task force.  These standards will enable U.S. mariners to get jobs in one of the fastest growing segments of the international shipping trade.

      “The worldwide demand for qualified mariners, plus the growth in the LNG industry, provides a unique growth opportunity for U.S. merchant mariners and the U.S. maritime industry,” said Connaughton. 

      Connaughton noted that the LNG fleet is expanding rapidly; in January 2006 there were 194 LNG tankers worldwide, and the expected number at the end of 2007 is 373.  There have been few opportunities for U.S. mariners to sail on those ships.  The standardization of training and credentials in an internationally accepted set of competencies will make it easier for U.S. mariners to be employed on the worldwide LNG fleet. 

      The standards put forward in this agreement will be implemented at the maritime academies and at training facilities operated by maritime unions, whose representatives signed the agreement.  Signatories include the Seafarers International Union, American Maritime Officers, Marine Engineers Beneficial Association; Masters, Mates, and Pilots; Sailor’s Union of the Pacific, the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, California Maritime Academy, Great Lakes Maritime Academy, Maine Maritime Academy, Massachusetts Maritime Academy, the Maritime College of the State University of New York, and the Texas Maritime Academy at Texas A&M University at Galveston.