Looking for more information or wondering how to get started? Here are some links to guide you toward resources relating to merchant mariner licensing, education opportunities, and more:

Licensing

 

Education and Training

West Coast

  • MITAGS West - a full-service maritime training center in Seattle, Washington; the West Coast subsidiary of MITAGS.

  • Compass Courses - a woman-owned maritime school in Edmonds, WA, providing Lifeboatman certification, Basic Safety Training, Firefighting, a wide range of navigation courses and more. They also offer scholarships.

  • The Seafarer Collective - The Seafarer Collective is a program of the non-profit maritime organization, Grays Harbor Historical Seaport. Their mission is to provide accessible learning platforms and career mentorship to aspiring mariners.

  • Seattle Maritime Academy - the maritime branch of Seattle Central College, located at the north end of the Ballard bridge in Seattle, Washington.

  • Crawford Nautical - a well-established USCG-approved merchant mariner training facility in Seattle, WA offering a wide array of navigation courses.

  • Northwest Maritime Center - a beautiful facility in Port Townsend, WA, offering boatbuilding courses, events, and navigation courses on location through affiliation with Crawford Nautical and the U.S. Maritime Academy.

  • Tongue Point Job Corps - Tongue Point Job Corps in Astoria, Oregon offers vocational training programs to help mariners obtain Able-Bodied Seaman (AB) and Qualified Member of the Engine Department (QMED) endorsements.

  • Maritime Institute - Training Resources Ltd. has merged with Maritime Institute in San Diego to offer US Coast Guard-approved maritime training courses, and Maritime Institute also offers courses at their campus in Norfolk, Virginia.

  • AVTEC - Alaska's Institute of Technology, located in Seward, Alaska, offers maritime training programs as well as other technical vocational courses.

  • MERTS - The Marine and Environmental Research and Training Station (MERTS) is a US Coast Guard-approved maritime training center at Clatsop Community College in Astoria, Oregon.

East Coast

  • MITAGS - Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies, a full-service maritime training center in Linthicum Heights, Maryland.

  • AMO Star Center - located in Dania Beach, Florida, the Star Center offers a full range of maritime training courses; American Maritime Officers union members receive priority in course registration. Full room and board on location, as well as a swimming pool!

  • Chesapeake Marine Training Institute - CMTI is a USCG-approved maritime training center in Hayes, Virginia

  • Mid-Atlantic Maritime Academy - a USCG-approved maritime training center in Norfolk, Virginia.

  • Maritime Professional Training and Resolve Academy - maritime training centers in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, offering basic safety, shipboard firefighting, navigation resources and more.

Gulf Coast

  • Houston Marine Training Services - a maritime training facility in Houma, Louisiana, now operated by Falck Safety Services.

  • San Jacinto College - just outside of Houston, Texas, the San Jacinto College Maritime Program offers a 2-year associate's degree in Maritime Transportation and continuing education for mariner licensing.

 

Resources for Women