{"id":14320,"date":"2026-09-24T12:37:12","date_gmt":"2026-09-24T16:37:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/about-mma\/?p=14320"},"modified":"2026-09-24T12:39:37","modified_gmt":"2026-09-24T16:39:37","slug":"maine-maritime-academys-cpmd-named-a-2026-marad-center-of-excellence","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/about-mma\/press-releases\/maine-maritime-academys-cpmd-named-a-2026-marad-center-of-excellence\/","title":{"rendered":"Maine Maritime Academy’s CPMD Named a 2026 MARAD Center of Excellence"},"content":{"rendered":"

The U.S. Department of Transportation named Maine Maritime Academy’s Center for Professional Mariner Development (CPMD) a 2026 MARAD Center of Excellence<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

CPMD joins a national network of 48 institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Transportation for excellence in maritime workforce training<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n

CASTINE, ME \u2013 <\/strong>Maine Maritime Academy announced today that its Center for Professional Mariner Development (CPMD), based in Bucksport, has been designated a 2026 Center of Excellence (CoE) for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD). CPMD is one of 16 institutions named in this round, part of a national expansion that brings MARAD’s CoE network to 48 institutions across 87 training facilities in 28 states and territories.<\/p>\n

\"Fire

Students utilizing fire training facility.<\/p><\/div>\n

MARAD announced the new cohort on September 8, 2026. U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said the round brings nearly 20,000 additional trainees into the national mariner training pipeline, and that CoE-designated institutions now train roughly 58,000 mariners, apprentices, and students each year nationwide.<\/p>\n

The designation recognizes training capacity CPMD has built over years of work with the U.S. Coast Guard and the maritime industry. CPMD delivers 33 USCG-approved STCW courses and 14 non-STCW vocational credentials, and operates an NFPA-compliant live-fire burn complex. The center also delivers NSF-funded polar operations training on its full-mission bridge simulator \u2013 <\/strong>work that has prepared senior mariners of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution’s research vessel R\/V Neil Armstrong<\/a> for Polar Code certification from the American Bureau of Shipping. CPMD also delivers select components of its Coast Guard-approved training on-site for industry partners nationwide, such as instruction for Sause Bros. tankerman personnel, extending Maine-based expertise directly into the workplace.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis designation confirms what our industry partners around the globe already know: CPMD is training the mariners our country depends on,\u201d said Craig Johnson \u201991, President of Maine Maritime Academy. \u201cOur hands-on instruction is what keeps America’s commercial fleet crewed and our sealift capacity ready, and CPMD is proud to help lead that work from right here in Maine.\u201d<\/p>\n

About Maine Maritime Academy<\/strong><\/p>\n

Founded in 1941, Maine Maritime Academy is a public college offering degree programs in engineering, business, science, and transportation, with a focus on preparing students for careers in the maritime and logistics industries.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The U.S. Department of Transportation named Maine Maritime Academy’s Center for Professional Mariner Development (CPMD) a 2026 MARAD Center of Excellence CPMD joins a national network of 48 institutions recognized by the U.S. Department of Transportation for excellence in maritime workforce training CASTINE, ME \u2013 Maine Maritime Academy announced today that its Center for Professional […]<\/p>\n Read More...<\/a>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":14321,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-14320","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-press-releases"],"yoast_head":"\r\nMaine Maritime Academy's CPMD Named a 2026 MARAD Center of Excellence - About MMA<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/mainemaritime.edu\/about-mma\/press-releases\/maine-maritime-academys-cpmd-named-a-2026-marad-center-of-excellence\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Maine Maritime Academy's CPMD Named a 2026 MARAD Center of Excellence - 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