Yeah, I call it the Hallmark-Rockwell syndrome, they don’t have much else to hang onto and are uncomfortable with differing ideas.
I would be very interested in reading an objective rebuttal of any of the 5 points you posted but objectivity is not one of the tools in the KP lobbyists’ machine shop.
Kids that young (still in the teens, during their sea year) don’t know what they don’t know. Throughout my career I have dealt with a lot of cadets and not all were from KP. Most were still feeling their way through life.
(May be thread creep a little. Mods, feel free to split it off if you think it distracts from the OP)
Personally, I think this is the crux of the issue. What bothers me is that KP isn’t the only one that’s got this problem (but they’re the only one that’s really facing the spotlight because of taxpayer dollars probably). Someone mentioned the regimentation levels of the SMAs earlier, and it’s something that’s been bothering the hell out of me.
I went to TMA back in the 90’s, and back then regimentation was secondary to our education as mariners (which at the time was incredibly good). Since then the pendulum has swung completely to the other end of the scale.
As @Steamer said, management by military folks instead of mariners is why I think we’re seeing a lot of these issues. In our case, we’ve got the additional pressure from the College Station Corps of Cadets trying to churn out military officers pushing our Superintendent and Commandant (neither of which hold or have ever held a Merchant Marine license of any level) to get in line with them. It’s not what any of the maritime academies should be though and it’s a big problem.
Yea it’s not in state. It’s a regional price that is between in and out of state.
I couldn’t agree more. Maritime Academies should not be lead by navy/ military personnel with no experience in the commercial maritime sector. A high quality education should be the priority not fostering some quasi-military environment. Looks like Maine Maritime just chose a new president with a lot of commercial experience and it seems like academy is attempting to improve by steering away from career military personnel which is good.
That’s funny. A few moments research suggests that since LA/LB handles close to 40% of US container shipments and the Norfolk ports handle less than 5% it’s a bit disingenuous to claim better planning - unless of course the plan was to limit traffic to an 1/8 of what LA/LB handles.
Was referring to the efficiency of the operations, Not who was the largest port.They are setting records day in and day out with few delays if any. As are most East Coast ports. Agree with prior poster, have gotten off OP subject.
“As a hawespiper, I was on the early bandwagon shitting on KP. That mindset changed a few decades ago”
I worked with some fine KP mariners. Friends to this day but the institution as structured has out lived its original purpose. It could use its millions of dollars in funding to provide free education and lodging to working mariners needing training to comply with STCW requirements. The state schools can educate the prospective mariners who want to roll the dice on a dwindling US maritime job. At least the state schools require some money be invested in that gamble
That would be awesome but MPT, STAR Center and the like would lobby hard against it. Training courses are a cash cow with a clientele that are stuck between a rock and a hard place if they aren’t Union and their company doesn’t pay for training.
Look up the “dwell time” for a box in Norfolk. Of course it is less than LA/LB but it is still around 7 days.
It is not difficult to achieve what some describe as “efficiency” when there are few distractions such as having to shift containers around. It’s like driving on the interstate around a big city vs a small town. When there aren’t any cars on the road you can move pretty quick.
Just imagine how “efficient” Norfolk would be if the damned ships would simply stop bringing them in.
Not if they got a chunk of the cash salvaged from the hulk of KP.
@jbtam99 is right about MPT, STAR center opposing that idea. On the other hand @Steamer and @tengineer1 if someone doesn’t work for a company that pays or reimburses them for training/ upgrades then they are probably working for a horrible company.
AGAIN. Kings Point= 90.5 million per year. That’s 17 MSP ships. OR that is money that could be put to offset building some Jones Act coastal vessels whether they are ATBs or conventional ships. Or money put towards current Marine Highway Projects.
I don’t think Maine has had an ex-military president since before the mid 80s.
Or used for full ride scholarships for state school license track students that want to sail commercially. The same amount of money could train far more students that way.
That would most likely lead to the same issues we have with KP, they claim they want to sail until they graduate then become clerks, insurance salesmen, or stockbrokers.
Use the money to support ships and the seafarers who man them. Getting a license isn’t half as difficult as upgrading and keeping one.
A significantly higher percentage of state school graduates actually sail for a significant amount of time. Just do the same policy of ‘you need to sail X number of months per year for Y number of years or you owe the government the money back.’
As long as cheap student loans are available, and there are sailing jobs that will easily pay them off, state academy students don’t need anymore government support.
The academies, and the private schools, are already milking the VA’s “disabled” veterans sugar tit for all its worth.
Growing the US deep sea fleet, both foreign trade and Jones Act and creating more decent paying jobs for mariners should be the top priority.
From cost/benefit and national security perspectives buying and reflagging modern competitive ships makes the most sense.
The most recent one for the last 15 years I think was an ex-navy admiral. From what I heard he had a reputation of pushing the staff, students, and alum the wrong way.
I see no mention of Dr. Brennan having any military service whatsoever.
https://mainemaritime.edu/about-mma/office-of-the-president/presidents-bio/
Dr. William J. Brennan became the fourteenth President of the Maine Maritime Academy on May 3, 2010. As President of the Academy, he holds a commission as a Rear Admiral in the United States Merchant Service. He is a leading authority on environmental policy relating to oceans, the atmosphere, and maritime issues. Dr. Brennan has served as head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), as Assistant U.S. Secretary of Commerce for Oceans and Atmosphere, and as Commissioner of the Department of Marine Resources for the State of Maine.
In addition to his NOAA duties, Dr. Brennan served as the Director of the United States Climate Change Science Program, integrating Government-supported research on climate and global change. He also served for a time as the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce for International Affairs, managing the international activities for NOAA and its subsidiary branches.
Prior to joining the Federal government, Dr. Brennan headed W.J. Brennan Associates, a policy and management consulting firm with private and public sector clients in natural resource, energy and environmental areas. He also served as the Sawyer Professor of Ocean Studies in the Corning School of Ocean Studies at the Maine Maritime Academy.
Dr. Brennan began his professional career in 1977 with NOAA Fisheries at its Woods Hole laboratory. His Maine roots remained strong and, following graduate studies in 1983, he served as senior staff in the U.S. House of Representatives office of Congressman John R. McKernan, Jr. In 1987 he was appointed by Governor John R. McKernan, Jr. to serve in his Cabinet as Commissioner of Maine’s Department of Marine Resources, a position he held for eight years.
Dr. Brennan holds a B.S. degree in Marine Biology from the University of Maine, a M.A. degree in Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island, and he received his Doctoral Degree in Ecology and Environmental Sciences from the University of Maine. He is also the recipient of an honorary Doctor of Science degree from the University of Rhode Island for a distinguished career devoted to marine and environmental policy. He and his wife Heather reside in Castine. They have two sons, Will and Tyler, and a daughter, Hayley.