The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (Marad) has designated 16 maritime training institutions and consortiums as 2026 Centers of Excellence for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education.
The additions expand Marad’s Centers of Excellence network to 48 institutions operating 87 training facilities across 28 states and territories. The centers collectively train about 58,000 mariners, apprentices and students annually, according to DOT.
The 2026 designees are:
- Argonaut, Ohio
- Bunker Hill Community College, Massachusetts
- Center for Professional Mariner Development, Maine
- Chapman School of Seamanship, Florida
- Corn Belt Ports Rural Maritime & Logistics Training & Education Consortium, Iowa, Illinois, Missouri and Wisconsin
- Maritime Institute, Washington and California
- Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering Department at the University of Michigan, Michigan
- Northeast Maritime Institute, Massachusetts
- Northwest Maritime Center, Washington
- Resolve Maritime Academy, Florida
- Sea School, Florida, Alabama, South Carolina and Louisiana
- Seamen’s Church Institute, Kentucky and Texas
- University of West Florida, Florida
- Washington State Ferries, Washington
- Webb Institute, New York
- Western Pacific Maritime Academy, Guam and the Northern Mariana Islands
“Under President Trump’s leadership, we are supercharging the maritime workforce pipeline. This designation alone brings nearly 20,000 trainees into America’s mariner training program who are preparing for a career in service to the American people,” Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said. “From constructing Navy warships to operating river towboats, we are partnering with elite institutions to equip our mariner workforce with the skills needed to keep our supply chains moving.”
Congress authorized the Centers of Excellence program in the fiscal year 2018 National Defense Authorization Act. It recognizes community colleges, technical schools and other institutions that provide maritime workforce training outside the federal and state maritime academy system.
Designated institutions may enter cooperative agreements with Marad and receive assistance with recruitment, faculty development, facilities, credit for military service and access to surplus federal equipment or Marad vessels.
The network also includes institutions and consortiums designated in 2024:
- Alaska Maritime Education Consortium, Alaska
- Anne Arundel Community College, Maryland
- Cabras Marine Corp., Guam
- Calhoon MEBA Engineering School, Maryland
- Cape Fear Community College, North Carolina
- Carteret Community College, North Carolina
- Clatsop Community College, Oregon
- College of the Florida Keys, Florida
- Community College of Baltimore County, Maryland
- Community College of Rhode Island, Rhode Island
- Delaware County Community College, Pennsylvania
- Delgado Community College, Louisiana
- Divers Institute of Technology, Washington
- Flagship Maritime, Washington
- Guam Shipyard, Guam
- Hampton Roads Maritime Industries Education Alliance, Virginia
- Hinds Community College, Mississippi
- Long Beach City College, California
- Minnesota State Domestic Maritime Workforce Consortium, Minnesota
- MiraCosta College, California
- Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College, Mississippi
- Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies, Maryland and Washington
- Northeast Wisconsin Technical College, Wisconsin
- Northwest School of Wooden Boatbuilding, Washington
- Orange Coast College, California
- Trident Technical College, South Carolina
- West Kentucky Community and Technical College, Kentucky
“The strength of America's economy is tied directly to the resilience of our domestic fleet and the technical skill of our mariners,” Maritime Administrator Stephen M. Carmel said. “The institutions we honor today are the backbone of American maritime power. They are delivering top-tier mariner credentials, training nuclear shipbuilders, and ensuring our commercial waterways stay open in any crisis.”
DOT said the designations support workforce development goals included in the Trump administration’s executive order on restoring U.S. maritime dominance. Additional information on the institutions and their programs is available through Marad’s Centers of Excellence directory.
