As part of the $1.3 trillion omnibus spending bill approved by Congress last month, the Northwestern Michigan College (NMC) Great Lakes Maritime Academy will receive $1.2 million in federal funding in 2018. That number is double what the Maritime Academy received from the government in 2017.
 
NMC has earmarked the cash for improvements to the docking area where the training ship T/S State of Michigan is moored. The college is current soliciting bids to install new mooring bollards and mooring fenders on the docks. Those bids are due next week, with work tentatively scheduled to begin in May when the ship leaves port for its annual summer training cruise. The project should be completed by the time the vessel returns in August.
 
The omnibus funding should also help the Maritime Academy collect fuel reimbursements for costs incurred on the summer cruise. NMC estimates the ship will use about 98,000 gallons of fuel. At $2 a gallon, the federal reimbursement would be worth $196,000.
 
In past years, the Maritime Academy has used federal funds to upgrade equipment aboard the T/S State of Michigan and to improve its maritime simulations. Superintendent Rear Admiral Jerry Achenbach says the federal funding is crucial for ensuring that the Maritime Academy “maintains U.S. Coast Guard approval.”