Naming Ceremony Held for SUNY Maritime Training Ship Empire State
Philly Shipyard on Wednesday hosted a ceremony for the first state-class National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV), the Empire State.
Empire State is the first of five new NSMVs being built under a program for the U.S. Department of Transportation's Maritime Administration (MARAD), which owns and operates training ships for the nation's state maritime academies. The newbuild will be delivered this summer to the State University of New York (SUNY) Maritime College, replacing the school's current training ship built in 1962.
Captain Elizabeth Christman, a 1987 graduate of SUNY Maritime College and is currently the Vice President of the Maryland Pilots Association, served as vessel sponsor during the naming ceremony. After graduating from Maritime College, Christman became a role model for cadets by going to sea and advancing her U.S. Coast Guard license to the level of Unlimited Master. She supported SUNY Maritime College cadets directly as a watch officer and Chief Mate on earlier Empire State vessels for several years to include the safe transport of U.S. Armed Services personnel from Somalia.
Kimberly Alfultis served as the Honorary Matron of Honor for the Empire State. The spouse of Rear Admiral Michael Alfultis, President of SUNY Maritime College. Mrs. Alfultis’ long-standing support to the student body of SUNY Maritime College is widely known and well recognized, specifically in her efforts to recruit a diverse student body at SUNY Maritime. Mrs. Alfultis’ impressive record of service aligns with the goals of the Biden-Harris Administration to increase the diversity in the maritime industry while fostering a safe and inclusive environment at sea.
MARAD's NSMV program is designed to provide a purpose-built, state-of-the-art training platform for state maritime academies in New York, Massachusetts, Maine, Texas and California, respectively. In addition, the five NSMVs will be available to support humanitarian assistance and disaster relief missions when required.
In 2019, MARAD awarded TOTE Services a contract to be the Vessel Construction Manager (VCM) for the NSMV program, and Philly Shipyard secured the contract to build the first two vessels in 2020. The next two vessels in the NSMV program were ordered in 2021, followed by the fifth and final vessel in 2022.
Each NSMV will feature numerous instructional spaces, a full training bridge and have space for up to 600 cadets to train in a first-rate maritime academic environment at sea. In addition, each ship will feature modern hospital facilities, a helicopter pad and the ability to accommodate up to 1,000 people in times of humanitarian need. The NSMVs can also provide needed roll-on/roll-off and container storage capacity for use during disaster relief missions.
