TEXAS A&M BRINGS ‘A TASTE OF TEXAS’ TO CHARLESTON    

Free festivities include tours of 540 ft. training ship, Texas BBQ and Blue Bell Ice Cream

CHARLESTON, SC: Texas A&M University at Galveston invites the public to experience a Taste of Texas with an afternoon of free festivities on Sunday, June 12 at the Charleston Cruise Ship Terminal. Participants can tour the 540 ft. training ship, sample BBQ and Blue Bell ice cream onboard, and enjoy dockside activities throughout the afternoon, including:

• Tours of the 540 ft. training ship the TS Kennedy
• Face Painting
• Yard Games
• Ice Cream
• And more!

Attendees can register online now. Festivities will take place beside the ship at the Cruise Ship Terminal in Charleston from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Guests should arrive early to secure tour time slots for both the TS Kennedy. Close-toe shoes are required to tour the TS Kennedy; no dresses or skirts, please. Tours are available to those five years old and up due to safety protocols.

Over 200 Texas A&M Maritime Academy cadets, faculty and staff departed Galveston, TX on May 29^th aboard the TS Kennedy to begin a two-month training cruise to earn required at-sea hours to receive their U.S. Coast Guard license. The ship serves as a living laboratory where cadets earn hands-on experience in ship navigation and marine engineering systems, maintenance, safety and security, in addition to attending classes onboard.

This training is critical in educating the future generation of merchant mariners who support both our national security through service in the armed forces and the maritime industry, a key contributor to the economic prosperity of Charleston and the U.S.  

“Over 90 percent of everything you eat, wear or use travels to you through our nation’s ports and inland waterways,” said Texas A&M Maritime Superintendent Col. Michael E. Fossum. “Our nation’s workforce of skilled mariners is aging and retiring. Educating and training merchant mariners to drive the blue economy around the globe is critical in meeting the needs of our citizens.”

Summer Sea Term 2022 includes port stops in Charleston, SC, Reykjavik, Iceland, and New York, New York before returning home to Galveston, TX at the end of July. The Texas A&M Maritime Academy cadets are joined by cadets from four other state maritime academies to support at-sea training needs.  

You can learn more about Summer Sea Term and follow the ship route here.