Watching the State of Michigan Pass By

The next ship was kind of a surprise for me as I didn't notice her on the AIS.

 The State of Michigan belongs to the Great Lakes Merchant Marine Academy out of Traverse City.  Every summer, this ship will take cadets out on their summer cruises to help them prepare for becoming Merchant Marine officers.

 The curriculum at the academy is geared towards being a merchant mariner but I think there is some core curriculum that would be offered at other colleges.

 I think the Michigan academy is one of the few that gives both a salt water and fresh water certification.

 I have a couple of friends that went through the academy.  One of them is currently a mate on the Alpena.

This particular ship was donated by the Navy.  It used to be used for towing sonar arrays for detecting Soviet submarines.  With the end of the cold war, it was used in different missions until donation to the Academy.