Learning maritime ropes in NOLA

NEW ORLEANS - In some industries you learn by doing. Texas A&M-Galveston is the only maritime academy on the Gulf Coast, and some of its cadets are moored in New Orleans this week for training. “About 80 percent of the things that we use in this country come into country or are transported around this country by ships,” says Col. Mike Fossum, COO of the college. Ships need captains, mates and engineers to get them where they have to go. Students are learning in the areas of navigation to maintenance, and how to run the bridge to assisting in the galley. As a hub for maritime transportation, many of the school's students come from Louisiana, and return home to work, but there is a shortage of trained sailors. For cadets, part of the training is an experience for life at sea. Cadets must spend a year on the water to qualify for licenses. This is one of six programs of its type in the U.S. (Source: WVUE 07/18/17)