Trident Technical College is hoping to introduce its maritime training programs to a wider audience now that it has been designated one of just a handful of top places nationwide for seaport and logistics instruction.
The school recently received the Center of Excellence for Domestic Maritime Workforce Training and Education designation from the U.S. Department of Transportation‘s Maritime Administration. The title is given to post-secondary training programs that excel in preparing students for careers on the warefront.
It’s something Robert Elliott knows firsthand. He went through similar training as a young man — at Trident Tech and later at Southern Illinois University and The Citadel — and in 1993 took a job as a merchant mariner, traveling the world and earning a sizable salary.
He still holds his marine engineer’s license. And he’s now dean of manufacturing and maintenance at Trident Tech.
“It’s one of those lifestyles where there’s a lot of freedom,” said Elliott, who learned the love of travel as a child when his father was stationed at various spots in Europe with the Air Force.
“I was a contractor, so I was able to pick and choose my jobs on my own time,” Elliott said of his time as a merchant mariner. “It was a very rewarding career.”
These days, a merchant mariner with a few years of experience can pull down $190,000 a year. It’s one of several maritime positions that are in high demand and offer good pay, often with on-the-job training and without the expense of a four-year college degree.
Trident Tech offers certificate programs in industrial mechanics, machine tool technology, commercial truck driving and gas metal arc welding fundamentals and three maritime-related associate’s degrees in supply chain management, marine stewardship and marine engineering technology.
The school also offers apprenticeships with the Port of Charleston and area shipbuilding companies.
Elliott said the programs attract a mix of students — some who already know about the maritime business and others who are surprised by the opportunities that are available. “Some students, when we sit down and advise them about the different opportunities, and we start talking about these different programs, their ears perk up,” Elliott said. “Next thing you know they’re wanting to get registered in class. Other students have family members who were merchant marines or who worked at the port.”
Ann Phillips, the DOT’s maritime administrator, said the high standards of maritime education and training provided by Trident Tech and others is critical in “providing domestic mariners with the expertise needed to best serve the maritime industry.”
Trident Tech is the only South Carolina school to receive the designation, which is good for five years. Elliott said he hopes it will attract even more students from throughout the state as they learn more about the types of port-related jobs that are available.
“Your graduates have made outstanding contributions to the industry over the years, which is an excellent testimonial to the superior academic and professional education and training they received while attending Trident,” Phillips said in a letter to Trident Tech.
The designation can also be a tool to recruit new businesses to the Palmetto State.
“Think about any company that may want to relocate — this designation lets them know we’re training students to enter the maritime workforce,” Elliott said. “A lot of people don’t understand how much of an important role the transportation, logistics and supply-chain industries play in our national security and our economy,” he said. “Every aspect of America relies on transportation, logistics, goods and services. It was a very rewarding career for me, and I want students in the Charleston area to know about it and have that exposure.”
Towing vessel Royal Engineer was involved in an accident that damaged a gantry crane at the port’s North Charleston Terminal.
Maritime maneuver
Yonges Island-based Stevens Towing Co. is citing a little-known maritime law in an effort to limit its potential financial exposure in a Jan. 4 accident that damaged a mobile rubber-tired gantry crane at the Port of Charleston‘s North Charleston Terminal.
The Limitation of Liability Act of 1851 lets shipowners cap damage claims to the value of the vessel involved in an accident plus any freight that was aboard at the time. The law was passed 173 years ago to encourage investment in America’s burgeoning shipping industry by protecting shipowners from financial disasters.
In this case, Stevens said in a federal court filing that the tugboat and barge had a combined value of a little more than $2.3 million.
The company has filed a bond for that amount with the court and Judge David Norton signed an injunction prohibiting anyone from filing individual accident-related lawsuits against the company. Instead, those with claims stemming from the Jan. 4 incident must file them by May 15 as part of a special proceeding under maritime law.
A report by the National Transportation Safety Board states the towing vessel Royal Engineer was pushing the barge Stevens 1471 past the terminal on the Cooper River at about 4:20 p.m. Jan. 4 when a crane on the vessel made contact with and derailed a port gantry crane.
The accident did not disrupt operations, and it is still being investigated by the NTSB and the Coast Guard.
Stevens said in a filing that it wasn’t at fault for the accident, which did not cause any injuries. But if the court rules otherwise, financial damages would be limited to the bond amount.
