Maine Maritime Academy president gives update on pier restoration & State of Maine ship arrival

CASTINE, Maine (WABI) - There’s a lot going on along the waterfront in Castine.

As leaders at Maine Maritime Academy prepare for the arrival of the new State of Maine training ship, crews are putting the pieces together to build a new pier equipped for the vessel.

The work started in 2024 after the old State of Maine ship set sail on its final tour.

According to the president of MMA, sea trials for the new ship are expected to begin in the next week or so, and an MMA crew will be aboard to observe.

He tells WABI this new chapter will be a game changer.

“The ship will be arriving in the middle of March in Portland, Maine, and we’ll be doing Coast Guard checks and things like that for about a week or so, and we’ll probably have a grand celebration for its arrival here in the State of Maine toward the end of March, and then it’ll transport up here to Searsport, Maine,” said Craig Johnson.

“It’ll stay there until our training cruise, which is the first week of May it leaves.”

After that excursion, the ship departs to Texas for a joint training cruise with Texas A&M.

The ship will be able to hold 500-600 students with adequate learning classes on board.

Johnson said it’s the first time the school has received a purpose built ship, meaning it’s a ship built for maritime training and multi-mission capabilities.