Summer Sea Term

Texas A&M Maritime Academy Sets Sail

Texas A&M Maritime Academy cadets onboard the TS Kennedy depart Galveston to start their summer sea term.

On June 2, nearly 300 Texas A&M University cadets, faculty and staff left Galveston as part of the Texas A&M Maritime Academy’s 60-day summer sea term to prepare future mariners and maritime professionals to support national security and drive the nation’s blue economy.

“Over 90 percent of everything you eat, wear or use travels to you through our nation’s ports and inland waterways,” said Texas A&M Maritime Academy Superintendent Rear Admiral Michael E. Fossum, who is also Vice President of Texas A&M and Chief Operating Officer of Texas A&M’s Galveston Campus. “Our nation’s workforce of skilled mariners is aging and retiring. Educating and training marine, coastal and maritime professionals to continue to drive the blue economy here in the Gulf Coast region and around the globe is critical in meeting the needs of our citizens.”

Texas A&M’s Galveston Campus, home to the Texas A&M Maritime Academy, is a hub of national excellence in marine, coastal and maritime education in support of Texas A&M’s sea-grant mission and the global blue economy. The academy supports programs combining academic study in marine transportation, engineering, biology, and science with U.S. Coast Guard license training for careers as civilian officers on research or commercial vessels or military service.

Each port stop is part of the academy’s international summer semester at sea on the TS Kennedy, the 540-foot training ship, where cadets gain practical experience in navigation, engineering, maintenance, safety, and security while attending classes. Cadets also serve in various leadership roles as members of the Corps of Cadets, a regimented student-life program that teaches leadership, discipline and teamwork skills. The sea term includes port stops in Florida, Quebec, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania, where cadets will have two days in each port to explore and participate in academy-organized activities. They will return to Galveston, TX, in August before the start of the fall 2024 semester.

“Each sea term brings new obstacles with new opportunities to learn, and the practical experience we gain is so important as we prepare for the challenges we’ll face ahead in our careers as mariners,” said Cole Young ’25, sea term commander and the highest-ranking cadet on the ship. “I’m honored to lead my peers and classmates this summer as we embark on sea term.”

Learn more and follow the ship at the Summer Sea Term website.