U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Students Meet Graduation Requirement at Philly Shipyard

May 24, 2021

On April 30, USMMA students toured Philly Shipyard after a year with limited travel opportunities.

Professor Captain Peter Kahl, who serves as director of the Marine Engineering and Shipyard Management program, approached U.S. Merchant Marine Academy alumni – Jeffrey Michaelson ’15 and Justin Guerrera ’03, who both currently work at Philly Shipyard, Inc. (PSI) – in order to organize a shipyard tour, a graduation requirement that seven of his students were lacking due to COVID-19 restrictions over the past year. PSI was an advantageous option with its close proximity to the school but more importantly due to the large-scale commercial size of the yard which featured a government new build project for the U.S. DOT Maritime Administration (MARAD), a repair vessel for the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command (MSC), and a cargo ship docked for deliveries.

The students toured the under repair USNS Charlton, one of MSC’s large, medium-speed, roll-on/roll-off ships. With a displacement of 69,000 tons and a length of 950 feet, the vessel carries prepositioned U.S. Army tanks, armored personnel carriers, tractor-trailers, and other equipment and supplies to potential areas of conflict around the world. It also provides surge sealift support of remote military actions.

In the prefabrication shops, the Midshipmen First Class were able to observe the active process of shipbuilding including in progress double bottoms and the welding of frames and panels destined to become blocks. In April 2021, PSI cut steel on the second of four currently ordered National Security Multi-Mission Vessels (NSMV) – a MARAD project to develop the first purpose-built, state-of-the-art training vessels for America’s state maritime academies.