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Delegates from Mokpo University meet with President Johnson, Chief of Staff Shane Moykens, and Professor of Transportation Ender Asyali.<\/p><\/div>\n
In April, I attended the 23rd session of the IAMU IEB meeting at the University of Split Maritime Faculty in Croatia. The event was hosted on the Campus of the University of Split on the outskirts of the third century ruins of the Roman Emperor Diocletian\u2019s palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site.<\/p>\n
At the meeting, IAMU Executive Director Takeshi Nakazawa, Ph.D. indicated that former Maine Maritime Academy President Len Tyler\u2019s leadership played a fundamental role in the establishing the organization.<\/p>\n
President Tyler\u2019s eyes still light up talking about IAMU. While attending the 2026 Academy commencement ceremony on May 2, President Tyler asked if students were still involved with the IAMU annual conference. Indeed, maritime students from over 80 countries around the world present every year in October at the IAMU Annual General Assembly. Tyler added that he thought, \u201cit was important to get the students involved.\u201d<\/p>\n
At the IEB meeting, I made the case to Dr. Nakazawa that I believed it was in the mutual self-interest of Maine Maritime Academy and member IAMU institutions to collaborate, particularly in the context of at-sea training aboard State of Maine<\/em>, the nuclear program, and cooperation involving the Arctic.<\/p>\n The Academy\u2019s capacity for at-sea training is increasing from 240 to 600 with the delivery of State of Maine, currently on its inaugural training cruise. This year, the entire cohort of nearly 250 University of Texas A&M Maritime Academy students is training aboard State of Maine while the institution awaits the expected delivery of their new vessel, Lone Star State, next year.<\/p>\n IEB delegates, many of whom represent institutions that do not have their own training ships, expressed a great deal of interest in State of Maine at the meeting. Those schools often rely on industry partners for at-sea training rather than operating their own vessels.<\/p>\n Professor Minna Kein\u00e4nen-Toivola, Ph.D. gives a lecture on the Arctic at Maine Maritime Academy in December.<\/p><\/div>\n MARAD has indicated their initial support of the potential to train international students aboard State of Maine. Maine Maritime Academy would be well-served to pursue international partnerships before other state maritime academies attempt to attract the highest quality students from abroad to train on their own vessels.<\/p>\n Other opportunities for collaboration include partnerships involving the Arctic. In December 2025, Maine Maritime Academy hosted Minna Kein\u00e4nen-Toivola, Ph.D. from Satakunta University of Applied Sciences (SAMK)in Finland. SAMK does not have their training vessel either. Dr. Kein\u00e4nen-Toivola indicated the desire of the university\u2019s president to sign an agreement for student exchange, which has been drafted but not ratified.<\/p>\n During the April IEB meeting, Professor Rino Bo\u0161njak and Professor Merica Sli\u0161kovi\u0107 indicated interest on behalf of the University of Split Maritime Faculty to formally pursue opportunities for cooperation with the Academy as well. The University of Split also relies on industry for the at-sea training of their cadets.<\/p>\n In August, IAMU Deputy Executive Director Yusuke Mori, Ph.D. will visit Castine to discuss the IAMU-funded Organizational Development Project to meet with principal investigator, Professor of Transportation Ender Asyali, Ph.D., and his co-authors which include Associate Professor of Arts and Sciences Aaron Kingsbury, Ph.D. and Professor Ozcan Arslan and Assistant Prof. Esma Uflaz, both from Istanbul Technical University, Maritime Faculty.<\/p>\n The project has resulted in the formation of a working group within IAMU\u2019s organizational structure to move the creation of an external advisory panel forward. Professor Asyali will present his team\u2019s findings at the IAMU Annual General Assembly in October in Split.<\/p>\n The Academy is a premier maritime institution in the United States but poised to lead globally.\u2588<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" On March 9, delegates from Mokpo National Maritime University, a leading maritime institution in South Korea, visited Castine to meet with President Johnson to discuss the possibility of sending students from their school for specialized training at Maine Maritime Academy.<\/p>\n Cooperation between Mokpo University and the Academy began formally in 1990 when the two institutions signed the first of three agreements for the intent to exchange students and faculty.<\/p>\n During the March 2026 meeting, the Academy proposed that Mokpo University send approximately 25 students to the Academy for two years of training in both the deck and engine programs beginning in the fall semester.<\/p>\n The partnership between Mokpo University and the Academy predates the establishment of the International Association of Maritime Universities (IAMU), which has become the premier body for establishing international ties in the field of maritime education.<\/p>\n Maine Maritime Academy is one of seven founding members of IAMU, established in 1999, and is currently serving the end of a two-year term on the International Executive Board (IEB), the governing body of the institution, representing North and South America. The IEB is the In March, the Academy was reelected to the IEB for another two-year term, which it will hold in 2027-28.<\/p>\n In April, I attended the 23rd session of the IAMU IEB meeting at the University of Split Maritime Faculty in Croatia. The event was hosted on the Campus of the University of Split on the outskirts of the third century ruins of the Roman Emperor Diocletian\u2019s palace, a UNESCO World Heritage site.<\/p>\n At the meeting, IAMU Executive Director Takeshi Nakazawa,<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"\/mariner\/summer-2026\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/56\/2026\/07\/international3.jpg\")