Texas A&M at Galveston welcomes new training ship

By Kara Socol

Texas A&M University at Galveston (TAMUG) on Nov. 1 will officially welcome a seeworthy -- and seaworthy -- addition to its campus: The S.S. Cape Gibson.

At more than 600 feet long and displacing some 32,000 tons of seawater, the ship will provide a learning platform for future licensed engine and deck officers. It will serve as a floating classroom for the academy’s summer cruises and will take the place of TAMUG’s former training ship, which was returned to the Maritime Administration in June.

More than 300 members of the Texas Maritime Academy’s (TMA) Corps of Cadets are excited about the ship’s arrival. The academy, part of TAMUG, trains students pursuing commercial shipping occupations as licensed members of the U.S. Merchant Marines or Naval careers.

Among those cadets is John Watson ’13 of Weatherford, who is majoring in marine transportation. Upon graduation, he will receive the Coast Guard’s Third Mate License for Oceans Unlimited, opening the door for employment on a variety of merchant vessels.

"I’ve always been interested in a maritime-related career," he said. "I wanted to do something different than the people I went to school with."

Watson began experiencing TAMUG’s "different education" during the Corps orientation in August, known as "O-Week." Along with introducing military skills and Aggie traditions, O-Week activities centered on team building and disaster-survival training. Ship engineering, water survival, firefighter training, and ship safety and watch-standing were all included in this Corps orientation.

Watson said lifeboat drills and fire hose training taught him about teamwork. "You really learn that you have to work with those next to you, especially on a ship. Out on the water, they might be the ones saving your life."

It’s those same types of experiences William Quillen ’11 recalls about his freshman year at TAMUG. During O-Week, he was particularly impressed by an exercise that takes place in a disaster-containment locker, a pipe-filled storage container that simulates the bowels of a ship. Cadets must make repairs as seawater gushes in.

"It’s your team’s job to stop all of these leaks in a reasonable amount of time," Quillen said. "During O-Week, you’ll fail this exercise. But by the end of your freshman year, you’ll have practiced it so much that you’ll have it down pat."

TAMUG is the marine and maritime branch campus of Texas A&M in College Station. TMA is one of six state maritime academies in the United States.

Learn more about Corps life at TAMUG
View photos of the S.S. Cape Gibson
See more photos from O-week

To learn how you can support students or the Corps program at TAMUG, contact Jack O’Brien ‘95 with the Texas A&M Foundation at (409) 741-4030.