MMA takes helm of its new training vessel

Maritime Administration officials formally transferred the T/S State of Maine to the academy during a ceremony on Monday

MMA representatives and cadets joined federal officials and members of Maine’s congressional delegation during the transfer ceremony. Photo courtesy of Maine Maritime Academy.

April 1, 2026

By Emily Baer

PORTLAND – Maine Maritime Academy officials took delivery of its new training vessel, TS State of Maine, during a formal ceremony in Portland on Monday.

The 525-foot vessel is the third of five National Security Multi-Mission Vessels that will serve as the next generation training ship at maritime academies. It has two full-sized, fully functional bridges and engine rooms and is the largest, most sophisticated ship in the academy’s history.

The new $330 million vessel replaces a smaller training ship, also named the State of Maine, which had been a fixture on the Castine waterfront for decades.

Monday’s ceremony at the Ocean Gateway included current MMA president Craig Johnson, as well as former presidents Jerald Paul and William Brennan, cadets, U.S. Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, former U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao, and U.S. Senators Susan Collins and Angus King. 

MMA president Craig Johnson delivered remarks before formally accepting the vessel on behalf of the academy. Photo courtesy of Maine Maritime Academy.

As chair of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Collins was central to securing the funding for the ship. In February, she announced that an additional $2.8 million in congressionally directed spending funds had been secured to purchase equipment for a simulation laboratory aboard the State of Maine training vessel.

“I am proud to serve with former Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao as co-sponsor and as godmother of the new State of Maine,” said Collins. 

“We arrived at this glorious day after a long voyage that was not without its treacherous shoals,” she said, citing the difficulty of getting funding for the program through congressional appropriations process in 2019.

Representatives from the U.S. Maritime Administration, TOTE Services, and Hanwha Philly Shipyard were also present. The new NSMVs are being constructed by Hanwha Philly Shipyard while TOTE Services serves as the construction manager.

TSSOM in Portland Harbor. The ship will arrive in Castine following this summer’s training cruise. Photo courtesy of Maine Maritime Academy.