During both the Sophomore and Junior years at the Academy, pairs of students are assigned to various U.S. flagged merchant ships and travel the world. 

During Sea Year, USMMA Midshipmen experience firsthand the life of a merchant mariner. This is the time that classroom knowledge is put to the test in a real-life environment - all while visiting an average of 18 foreign countries!

Sea Year is a part of the fabric of Kings Point, dating back to 1942. Over the decades, midshipmen have engaged in peacetime commerce, have transported military supplies to the Persian Gulf and to Kosovo, and have been part of humanitarian missions to Haiti and Somalia.

Common Questions About Sea Year

What is the Sea Year mission?
Sea Year is a cooperative educational program designed to give you practical knowledge of the performance and operating characteristics of various classes of vessels, the operating requirements in different trade routes, and labor relations in the ocean shipping industry.

When do I Sail?
Your first sea period takes place during your sophomore year and lasts about 135 days. The second sea period, in the junior year, is longer, lasting about 265 days.

Who monitors my assignment?
Sea Year is administered by the Office of Shipboard Training in the Department of Professional Development and Career Services. You will work with an Academy Training Representative (ATR) who will assign you to your vessels, monitor and guide your progress, and serve as a liaison between you , the shipping companies and the Academy.

Click here for a sample sea year assignment from the humanities department

With whom do I sail?
You will be assigned to a vessel with a fellow student. The Shipboard Training Office makes every effort to pair you with a requested classmate when possible.

What is the sea project?
The Sea Project is a number of courses that help you utilize your ship as seagoing laboratory. It is, in a sense, “homework” which you complete at sea in addition to the shipboard tasks assigned to you by your vessel’s officers. The Sea Project is carefully designed to fit your major and ensures that you apply the knowledge and skills learned in Academy classrooms to your shipboard experience. At sea, you will complete written assignments that are graded by the Academy. You also will take oral and written examinations after returning from sea.

Do I earn pay?
During you time at sea you will be paid about $735 a month.

To which vessels am I assigned?
During your first sea period, you’ll be assigned to different kinds of vessels – a container ship, a tanker, a breakbulk cargo ship – to familiarize you with the types of vessels that comprise the U.S. merchant fleet. During your second sailing period, you may request assignment to a specific type of vessel to satisfy a career interest. Midshipmen with a strong desire for a naval career may request service aboard a U.S. Navy ship for part of the second sea period.

Where will I travel?
Midshipmen sail all over the world, to wherever there is a port! You may travel to Central and South America; to the Scandinavian countries; to the Far East, the Middle East and the Indian Subcontinent; to Northern Europe; to the Mediterranean and Africa; to the Caribbean and to ports in the U.S., including Alaska and Hawaii. You will visit an average of 18 to 20 foreign lands.

What do I take?
Midshipmen are encouraged to travel light, taking only what they need at sea. You will be given a list of what to pack in your sea bag. Everyone takes a lap top computer. Marine Transportation majors also take a sextant.

Can I call home?
Communication with home is done through letters; by telephone once in port; very occasionally by ship-to-shore phone; and increasingly, by email.

Your Defining Moment

There’s no better way of learning that by doing. That’s what sea year is all about. You’ll work at everything from cargo loading and navigation to engine repair and ship maintenance. You’ll heed the advice given to every midshipman embarking on sea year: “Keep your eyes and ears open.”

Why is sea year so important? Because, for most midshipmen, it’s their first real opportunity for self-reliance. At sea, you’ll balance your time between shipboard tasks and your sea project. You’ll develop self-discipline and self-confidence. You’ll practice human relations skills as you work both with the ship’s officers and crew. You’ll observe different and exotic cultures as you travel from port to port.

As you walk up the gangway of your first ship, sea bag over your shoulder, you’ll join the ranks of thousands of Kings Pointers who credit Sea Year as the foundation of their successful professional careers.

For them, it was their defining moment. Make it yours too.

Worldwide Ship Tracker

Way Cool!  Find the ship your buddies or kids are on using this website (click anywhere in the screen shot below to go there):