All on-vessel positions at Washington State Ferries (WSF) require maritime credentials. If you want to work in the WSF engine room, you are required to work toward getting a Qualified Member of the Engine Department (QMED) certification. If you need help covering the cost of tuition, you can apply for a scholarship. Applications are now being accepted until funding is exhausted. More than 30 scholarships will be awarded! Apply early for best consideration. Individuals from all backgrounds are encouraged to apply.

The Galveston Wharves is investing in the future of the maritime industry by establishing an endowment at Galveston College to fund maritime-related degrees and trades. Initial funding of $40,000 came from sponsorship proceeds from the Port of Galveston’s bicentennial celebration in 2025.  Rodger Rees, Galveston Wharves port director and CEO, said, “As one of the Gulf Coast’s leading deepwater ports, the Port of Galveston and its port partners depend on a strong pipeline of skilled professionals to sustain and grow our maritime economy. This endowment reflects our commitment to helping the next generation gain the education and training they need to work in this critical industry.”

Eleni Polychronopoulou, president of ERMA Tech Group, was recently recognized by the International Maritime Organization (IMO) for her contribution to advancing gender equality in the global maritime sector, receiving a Letter of Commendation as part of the prestigious IMO Gender Equality Award framework. Polychronopoulou also serves as president of HEMEXPO (Hellenic Marine Equipment Manufacturers & Exporters) and vice chair of SEA Europe, the Shipyards’ and Maritime Equipment Association of Europe, while leading a group of companies uniting ERMA FIRST, EPE Systems Division, RWO, Ecochlor, HASYTEC, Metis, STEELMAXenergy, as well as affiliated companies and strategic partnerships, redefining maritime energy efficiency through integrated technologies designed to deliver measurable performance results for vessels worldwide.

This project serves as a demonstration of the latest commercially available marine technologies and exceeds the most rigorous emissions standards currently in force in North America, including the most recent CARB harbor craft rules. Funding support is provided through CARB’s Advanced Technology Demonstration and Pilot Projects grant for the Los Angeles Marine Emission Reduction (LA MER) Project, administered by the Port of Los Angeles (City of Los Angeles Harbor Department). The vessel establishes a new benchmark in maritime innovation as a first-of-its-kind, multi-purpose monohull operating as a U.S. Coast Guard Subchapter K passenger vessel, certified for “limited coastwise” service and outfitted with advanced data collection and monitoring capabilities. Its customized design provides Harbor Breeze Cruises with exceptional operational flexibility while integrating advanced technology throughout the vessel.

As Maritime Week put the spotlight squarely on Washington, D.C.’s maritime sector, the Maritime Action Plan (MAP) continued to attract attention for good reason. If you operate, finance, insure, build or charter ships, you already know the core issue: The U.S. can’t count on surge sealift, sustained logistics or real maritime resilience without a commercially viable U.S.-flag fleet and a stronger industrial base behind it. Importantly, the MAP’s long-term success hinges not just on government-impelled cargo (military sealift, food aid and preference cargoes) but on cultivating genuine commercial cargo – the private-sector shipping demand that keeps fleets active during peacetime and creates the economic foundation for rapid mobilization when strategic needs arise.

The International Maritime Organization (IMO) has adopted a new International Code of Safety for Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS) to support the safe integration of AI-enabled and remotely operated commercial ships into global shipping. The MASS Code sets out a comprehensive, goal-based framework to ensure that remotely controlled or autonomous ships are designed and operated to a level of safety, security and environmental protection that is expected of a conventional ship. They will also be required to comply with the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea (SOLAS) and other applicable mandatory IMO instruments.

Member nations of the North Pacific Anadromous Fish Commission (NPAFC) reported a total harvest of 425.7 million Pacific salmon in 2025, the lowest aggregate weight for an odd-numbered year since 1987. Total numbers of salmon caught in the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada, and Korea rose 39% over 2024 but were 41% lower than the record catch in 2023, NPAFC said in a report issued on May 15 after its 33rd annual meeting in Vancouver, Canada. More adult salmon are typically harvested in odd-numbered years than even-numbered years because pink salmon are more abundant in odd-numbered years, but in 2025 the overall catch was 25% lower than the recent five-year average of odd-numbered years in terms of weight and 27 percent lower in total numbers of fish caught.

Panama President José Raúl Mulino announced Thursday that Ilya Espino de Marotta has been selected as the next administrator of the Panama Canal, making her the first woman to lead one of the world’s most strategically important shipping chokepoints. Espino de Marotta will replace Ricaurte Vásquez, who has led the canal since 2020 through a period marked by historic drought disruptions, surging geopolitical trade tensions, and major shifts in global shipping patterns. In a statement posted on X, Panama’s Minister for Canal Affairs José Ramón Icaza said the Board of Directors began planning the succession process last year with support from an internationally recognized consulting firm.

Jillian Verbeurgt and Jess Moss recently started their careers in engineering and technology, and in this essay for the International Day for Women in Maritime, they reflected on the opportunities ahead for women in the industry.  Neither of us planned a career in maritime. Our journeys began far from shipyards and propulsion systems, shaped instead by curiosity and opportunity. One of us grew up in the mountains of Canada, the other attended an all-girls school in south east London. Yet despite these very different beginnings, our paths converged in an industry undergoing profound change. Maritime is evolving - technologically, culturally, and environmentally - and women are increasingly part of that transformation.

Rerouting of global trade around the Cape of Good Hope has presented growth opportunities for some regions in Africa. Particularly, West Africa has greatly benefited from the diversion of the shipping traffic, with major maritime companies expanding their presence in the region.  The longer voyage around the Cape of Good Hope has spiked demand for bunker fuels at emerging supply points in Africa. In addition, demand for ship repair services is also rising, an opportunity that West African countries appear anxious to take. This positive market outlook has also seen major shipping companies realign their liner schedules, deploying extra capacity to West Africa. Last week, one of the world’s largest suppliers of marine fuels, Minerva Bunkering, announced its expansion in West Africa. The company owned by Mercuria Energy Group launched a bunkering service in Mauritania after approval by the National Hydrocarbons Commission (CNHY). Minerva will be operating from the Mauritanian ports of Nouadhibou and Nouakchott. From these locations, the company will supply commercial vessels as well as offshore oil and gas installations operating in West Africa.

General Dynamics NASSCO has received $856 million in funding to build T-AO 217, the latest ship in the U.S. Navy’s John Lewis-class fleet replenishment oiler program. The funding is part of an eight-ship block-buy contract awarded in September 2024 covering T-AO 214 through T-AO 221. NASSCO is now under contract to build 17 of the Navy’s planned 20 oilers and has delivered five to date.  The San Diego shipbuilder said T-AO 217 will be the 13th ship in the program and is aimed at sustaining production continuity at the yard. “The T-AO program is a cornerstone fixture for the dedicated team at NASSCO, representing the longest-standing Navy production series in our history,” said Dave Carver, president of General Dynamics NASSCO. He said the funding “maintains a steady workforce and helps mitigate the risk of future layoffs” as the company seeks timely funding for ships 14 through 17.

The Department of the Navy has released its shipbuilding plan for fiscal year 2027 and beyond, with Acting Secretary of the Navy Hung Cao outlining long-term plans for what the Trump administration is calling the Navy’s “Golden Fleet.” “The United States is at a strategic inflection point, and rebuilding American maritime dominance requires urgency, accountability, and sustained commitment,” Cao said. “This shipbuilding plan provides a roadmap for the Golden Fleet, to grow a larger, more capable fleet while revitalizing the industrial base, strengthening our workforce, and ensuring our sailors and marines have the platforms they need to defeat any adversary for decades to come.” Golden Fleet is an homage to Theodore Roosevelt’s “Great White Fleet,” 16 white-painted battleships deployed in 1907 for a 14-month circumnavigation to project American naval strength.

Snow & Co., Seattle, has launched the first battery-powered electric ship-assist tug in an eight-vessel series being built for Curtin Maritime, Long Beach, Calif., with Los Angeles-based Arc providing the battery and battery management system integration. WorkBoat visited the shipyard in April as two 2,000-hp Schottel L-drive propulsion units were being installed aboard the 80’9”x42’3” tug Tuuli C, and crews prepared the vessel for launch. The tugs are too heavy for the shipyard’s traditional 1942 steam-powered crane launch system, so Snow brought in Manson's Derrick 24, a much larger floating crane, also leading Snow & Co. to develop an alternative approach to move the vessel out of the building using eight air casters. “So that sits flat on the floor and the air blows in there. This is the manifold for the eight air casters,” said shipyard founder and president Brett Snow, pointing to the contraption in his office.

HD Hyundai Robotics reports that it has secured an order for its ArcLift GO robotic welding solution that will see it supply robotic welding systems for three Chouest Group shipyards in North America and one shipyard in Brazil. ArcLift GO is a robotic welding solution designed to deliver uniform and stable weld quality, significantly reducing dependence on skilled welders. Based on HD Hyundai’s extensive process know-how accumulated through years of shipbuilding experience, the solution adopts a plug and play concept supported by intuitive operating software, enabling flexible responses to diverse geometries and working environments.

On the evening of Friday, May 1, the Squalicum Boathouse was filled with energy, pride, and celebration as more than 70 community members gathered for a truly historic moment, the inaugural graduation ceremony of the Northwest Maritime Apprenticeship. This wasn’t just a graduation. It was a milestone for the maritime industry in the United States. For the first time, three apprentices, Talia Piper, Ben Oliver, and Matthew Sutherland, officially completed a rigorous, state-registered program designed specifically to train professional Marine Service Technicians earning their Certificates of Completion. In doing so, they became among the first individuals in the country to earn this distinction through an apprenticeship program.

In an effort to help understand where whales are getting entangled, the Pacific States — California, Oregon, and Washington — began implementing colored markings on Dungeness crab pot buoy lines in 2020, with state-specific requirements. California fishermen must use purple and black line on traps beginning in the 2025–26 season. Oregon will require yellow and black rope beginning Dec. 1, 2026, and Washington is phasing in red and black rope between 2025 and 2028. With tariffs on imported rope and color confusion among foreign producers, Russ Mullins of Bellingham, Wash., saw an opportunity. He launched a new company, Pacific Ropeworks, to meet the needs of West Coast fishermen.

Predictwind meteorologist Arnaud Monges describes the past 50 years of weather forecasting the way Gen Z might describe a dusty calculus textbook from the 1980s. “You solve the equation, and you can predict the change of pressure that leads to change of wind and all those things,” Monges says. “That was weather forecasting.” The old-school technique still works, of course, but PredictWind is now using artificial intelligence to build new forecasting methods. PredictWind G is based on the traditional American weather model, while PredictWind E is based on the European model. AI is then layered in.

SAFE Boats International (SBI) said it has delivered its Response Boat–Small (RB-S) Demonstrator unit to the Coast Guard in Charleston, S.C., for the service's evaluation of next-generation capabilities for one of its most critical and widely deployed platforms. The 32’4.5” x 8’6” vessel has a 28-knot cruising speed/top speed of 49 knots, powered by twin 300hp V8 Mercury Verado outboard engines.  “The delivery of this RB-S Demonstrator underscores SAFE Boats’ ability to move quickly, listen closely, and deliver a highly capable platform built around the realities of Coast Guard operations,” said Rob Goley, chief revenue & customer officer at SAFE Boats International.

An advocacy group is raising concerns about a potential cement supply crunch in the U.S. as federally funded infrastructure projects ramp up, warning that marine and ferry construction could face increased competition for materials in the coming years. American Foundations, an initiative of Common Sense America, is urging lawmakers to expand Buy America provisions to include cement and other building materials in the upcoming Surface Transportation Authorization bill. The push follows what the group describes as a decline in domestic production paired with rising imports and a surge in construction demand.

Shipbuilder Mavrik Marine Inc., La Conner, Wash., has delivered a new whale-watching boat for Pacific Northwest ferry and excursion vessel operator FRS Clipper Inc., Seattle. The boat was christened during an April 16 ceremony. Designed by One2Three Naval Architects, Sydney, the 103.4'x32' high-speed aluminum catamaran, the Emerald Clipper, is a USCG Subchapter T vessel with capacity for 150 passengers plus a crew of four to eight. It is powered by quad Scania DI16-082M Tier 3 diesels, each producing 800 hp at 2,100 rpm. The engines power HamiltonJet HTX42 waterjets through ZF 655 SC gearboxes. The boat cruises at 32 knots, and it will have a range of 340 nautical miles — enough to reach the full length of Puget Sound and the Juan de Fuca Strait.