''Empire State'' VII, callsign WDO2002, IMO number 9910313, is a training ship owned by the

United States Maritime Administration The United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) is an Government agency#United States, agency of the United States Department of Transportation. MARAD administers financial programs to develop, promote, and operate the United States Maritime ...

and operated by

SUNY Maritime College State University of New York Maritime College (SUNY Maritime College) is a public maritime college in the Bronx, New York City. It is part of the State University of New York (SUNY) system. Founded in 1874, the SUNY Maritime College was the fi ...

. She is the first vessel in the

National Security Multi-Mission Vessel The National Security Multi-Mission Vessel (NSMV) is a United States Maritime Administration (MARAD) ship designed as training vessels for maritime academies. The five vessels will also be equipped to provide humanitarian assistance and disaster ...

(NSMV) class and has replaced the 1961-built ''Empire State'' VI. The new training ship is the seventh vessel to carry the name ''Empire State'' for the

but its first purpose-built new build. The previous training ships had been converted cargo or military vessels. (While SUNY refers to the ship as ''Empire State VII,'' and US Coast Guard regulations allow use of Roman numerals in a ship name, the vessel displays her name as ''"Empire State"'' without a numeral.) The preliminary and basic NSMV design was developed by the Herbert Engineering Corp. of Alameda, California, and the rest of the design was completed by DSEC headquartered in Busan, Korea. While primarily a training ship the NSMV class is also to be equipped for disaster relief: a Roll-on/Roll-off side ramp, container space and crane, and a helipad. The contract for the first two NSMV vessels was signed with

Philly Shipyard Hanwha Philly Shipyard, formerly Philadelphia Shipyard Inc''.'', is a commercial shipyard located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States on part of the site of the Philadelphia Naval Shipyard. The commercial yard began after the United Sta ...

(

Philadelphia Philadelphia ( ), colloquially referred to as Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania, most populous city in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the List of United States cities by population, sixth-most populous city in the Unit ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

) in April 2020 with anticipated delivery in Spring of 2023. Steel cutting for the first vessel began in December 2020. Its keel was laid on 10 December 2021 and launched on 24 September 2022. The vessel was delivered to the SUNY's pier on 18 September 2023. In January 2024 she sailed to San Juan, Puerto Rico for her maiden voyage and as part of the Regiment of Cadets' winter sea term. Winter Sea Term 2024: New York, New York - San Juan, Puerto Rico Summer Sea Term 2024: New York, New York - Nassau, The Bahamas - Port Canaveral, Florida - Portland, Maine - St. George's, Bermuda Summer Sea Term 2025: New York, New York - New Orleans, Louisiana - Ponta Delgada, Portugal - Bergen, Norway

References

{{United States Training Ships Training ships of the New York State Merchant Marine Academy Transports of the United States Navy Training ships of the United States