Like other colleges, Maine Maritime Academy shifted to online learning this spring due to the pandemic. But graduating seniors need time aboard the academy's training ship to obtain their Coast Guard licenses.
Jackson Lab and Puritan Medical Products will help graduating students fulfill that important ship-board requirement.
“It really is a testament to the interconnectedness in the state of Maine,” says academy President Bill Brennan.
Brennan says the two organizations helped develop a plan to test everyone going aboard the academy's training ship twice in the weeks before the start of its summer cruise. "Both organizations just have gone above and beyond in assisting us with the test kits that we need, helping develop the protocols used for testing."
Once aboard, no one will get on or off during the four-and-a-week cruise. Also, because of the pandemic, the ship will not actually be put to sea. Brennan says it will still provide important training as the cadets run all the shipboard systems. And they will earn the needed Coast Guard credits to obtain a maritime license.
