Seattle Maritime Academy Students to Participate in Federal Grant
Partnership with Puget Sound Clean Air Agency to benefit students and citizens
Seattle Central’s Seattle Maritime Academy students, thanks to a partnership with the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency and Island Tug and Barge, will take part in a $400,000 grant from the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD) for a demonstration project aimed at reducing harmful diesel emissions.
The federal grant, is one of only three given nationwide, and the only one in the Northwest. It is the first time the Maritime Administration has awarded competitive grant funding for environmental innovation projects.
The grant will support a student internship program between the Academy and Seattle-based Island Tug and Barge, providing students with field-based training, experience and potential employment. Qualified students will work a apprentices to replace the 34-year-old engines of a company tugboat, Island Chief, with low-sulfur diesel engines.
“The money goes toward the engines, but the experience that our students will get is priceless,” said Carl Ellis, Assistant Dean for the Seattle Maritime Academy. “They will see and participate in the installation of an engine in a vessel which can not be replicated.”
At a time of tight federal funding, the grant money is particularly welcome. “This is absolutely a win-win situation,” said Scott Crum, Port Engineer with the Seattle Maritime Academy, who helped with the grant process. “Students will get the training and experience they need, learning engineering, welding, shipyard work and how to work with new, computer-controlled engines. And Island Tug and Barge will be getting quality employees.”
Island Tug and Barge, which has worked with the Academy in the past, is a national marine leader in environmental technologies, voluntarily adopting eco-friendly practices. The ultimate aim of the project is to inspire other marine businesses to be pro-active by showing that detoxing the air can also produce a healthy bottom line. Diesel particulate matter significantly compromises public health, contributing an estimated 70 percent of the potential lifetime cancer risk from airborne toxics, according to the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency.
Elizabeth Gilpin, air resource specialist for the Puget Sound Clean Air Agency, said this grant project exceeds federal Environmental Protection Act requirements being phased in for maritime vessels. “It was very, very competitive; it was not something we expected to get,” she said.
“This isn’t just an internship or a repowering project, but a sustainability project, too. It is meant to show other companies that they can get a tremendous environmental benefit but also tremendous fuel savings from the newer engines – fuel is expensive!
“And to be able to partner with Seattle Central Community College is also exciting,” she said. “This whole grant project is cutting edge, different from anything we’ve done before.”
The grant, announced recently by U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood, awards a combined $1.5 million for the three innovative demonstration projects, the results of which will be shared. The funding is part of a new MARAD program aimed at making shipping a greener industry. The two other grantees are located in Los Angeles and Perryville, Mo.