Hapag-Lloyd ships will provide sea training to U.S. cadets
The U.S. Maritime Administration and Hapag-Lloyd USA have entered an agreement for cadets from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy and state maritime schools to take their training voyages on Hapag-Lloyd vessels.
U.S. maritime cadets must have sailing time on working vessels to qualify as licensed mariners.
'Currently, there is a worldwide shortage of licensed mariners, and U.S. maritime academies have geared up to train more students,' said MarAd in a statement Tuesday. 'Students will begin to serve on foreign-flag vessels in October.'
The agreement with Hapag-Lloyd marks the fifth training agreement reached between MarAd and the private industry. Previous agreements were with APL, Overseas Shipholding Group, Great American Lines and SeaRiver.