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ment; Maersk Training assisted with this. Rowan’s associ- ate degree program will start in 2024; certi? cate programs start this year.

It’s dif? cult to get answers about how many students these emerging programs will accommodate and whether the programs are being sized to enroll 25 to 30 students at a time or 250 to 300.

Maritime unions are important training providers. One well-known program is offered by the Seafarers Interna- tional Union (SIU) in partnership with the Lundeberg

Maryland School of Seamanship in Piney Point, Md. This joint program provides free tuition. Courses range from deckhand skills to engine room work to stewards’ duties.

There are speci? c programs aimed at veterans moving from military to civilian work. Graduates work across the indus- try, from deep-sea containerships to New York ferries.

Bart Rogers was an SIU assistant vice president at Lun- deberg (he retired November 30). Rogers was asked wheth- er traditional mariner training meets the needs of OSW employers. “When it comes to the future of the maritime industry,” Rogers commented, “and the clean energy jobs that come with it our school is more than adequate to keep training the next generation of merchant mariners.”

Rogers said crew transfer vessels (CTV) or service opera- tion vessels (SOV) for OSW are similar to vessels such as fer- ries and tugs. He said the school regularly updates its curricu- lum to stay current with Coast Guard and industry standards.

Rogers added that, “a CTV is very similar to a ferry boat and a SOV is going to be like an articulated barge or tugboat. SIU has been training these mariners for generations.”

Rogers said that new students can be trained in about three weeks to be ready for basic safety skills, lifeboat skills and designated security duties. He said the school has changed its recruiting efforts somewhat so that it can iden- tify potential students living in prospective OSW coastal areas. A parallel focus is on trade schools and community colleges in those areas. Rogers emphasized, though, that

SIU’s recruitment is for the whole maritime industry, not just OSW. “We try to over qualify our members,” Rogers said, “so they have more choices where they’d like to work.”

Rogers was asked about expansion and scale-up. He 175,000 members said the SIU program “is always able to increase its capac- ity to meet industry needs and provide whatever training is required.”