New Bedford Guide Your Guide to New Bedford and South Coast, MA
OPEN HOUSE EVENT: Interested in finding out more? On Saturday, June 27 from 10:00am-2:00pm Northeast Maritime Institute will be holding an open house. There will be tours every half hour starting at 10:30am, video presentations, you will be able to meet with admissions representatives, experience their simulators, and an activity table for the kids. Find out more: Northeast Maritime Institute’s Fairhaven Homecoming Open House
New Bedford is proud of its rich maritime history and tradition. If we aren’t fishermen, captains, mates or deckhands, our fathers or grandfathers were – or we know someone who is. Many of us work in the seafood industry in some capacity: if not on the vessel itself, in a processing plant, sales, accounting or other supporting occupation. No matter how far back you look in the history of the region you will see a maritime presence. It has always been that way and always will be.
Last year the port of New Bedford generated $411 million in revenue. That is just shy of half-a-billion dollars for the city alone and doesn’t including any of the nearby towns, who also generate significant revenue and job dollars. As massive as the seafood industry is, it is only a small portion of the overall maritime industry which includes the United States Coast Guard, Merchant Marines, and many international shipping companies, etc. 
There is a never-ending flow of job opportunities in the marine industry, even for people with little to no maritime experience. This is due to the fact that almost three quarters of world trade is carried out by the shipping industry, and a whopping 95% of U.S. international trade is transported by ship.
Frequently, individuals seeking to achieve higher ranking or paying positions within their field, will attend a trade school, community college, or university for their requisite training. However, there is a different, more local option that can better prepare an individual for their maritime career: an education provided by Northeast Maritime Institute, located in neighboring Fairhaven. Northeast Maritime Institute is a private, co-educational maritime institution which offers students the opportunity to receive an Associate degree and a U.S. Coast Guard credential to work on vessels both domestically and internationally.
NMI’s Global Reach puts thousands of jobs within grasp
Lest you think that Northeast Maritime is a small institute because it is in a small town, consider the fact that there are three campuses that receive students from around the world. Last month, NMI sent two of its current students on their first ocean voyage where they will be accumulating sea time, visiting places like the coast of Africa and Spain. This summer internship fulfills the student’s degree requirement for the “Summer at Sea” program.
Northeast Maritime Institute is the first and only private maritime college in the United States and around the globe. Their mission statement is “…to equip graduates with the combination of knowledge, critical thinking, problem solving, ethical decision making, and confidence which will enable them to safely and efficiently operate, maintain, and manage the ships of today and the maritime industry of tomorrow,” sheds some light on the level to which they understand and care about the maritime industry.
Since 1981, thousands of students have passed through their doors and have gone on to rewarding, lifelong careers in the maritime industry. Beginning as a the New England branch of the Tidewater School of Navigation in Virginia, it was taken over by Capain Adrian L. Lonsdale, USCG (Ret.), USMM (U.S. Merchant Marine) in 1987, who changed the name to Northeast Maritime, Inc. In 1995, Fairhaven native, Eric Dawicki, USMM Third Mate and Ship Management Consultant, and his wife Angela Dawicki, took ownership of Northeast Maritime Institute and relocated to New Bedford.
Eric started his career in the Merchant Marine as an Ordinary Seaman, becoming an Able Bodied Seaman, Boatswain, and then Third Mate. His humble beginnings as a mariner guided him into his career as one of the world leaders in developing international maritime safety and security policy. He often states that growing up in Fairhaven and New Bedford, firmly planted the seeds for him to engage in such a fascinating career.
In 2001 the institute made its final move to Fairhaven, where it has since grown in reputation and size, becoming one of the largest privately held maritime education facilities in the United States.
Tuition comparison with trade school or university; career possibilities, courses
When comparing the cost of tuition with average starting pay in the industry, NMI provides one of the best returns on investment you will see in higher education., Tuition is $22,000 per year and can result in a starting pay of $49,000 per year. A typical career in the maritime industry consists of two weeks on and two weeks off. Both the demand for jobs, and the size of salary, has been steadily increasing in the industry in recent years. For example, pay for Captains of Tug Boats is approximately $175,000 per year. You can find further information about course length, training requirements, and prices, for various, maritime career options on Northeast Maritime Institute’s Career Track Page.
For international students, or legal residents who aren’t citizens of the U.S., training at NMI can make you eligible to receive a credential through the Commonwealth of Dominica International Maritime Registry. These credentials are recognized worldwide, and can boast NMI’s internationally respected education and training.
In addition, Northeast Maritime Institute offers License Management for Application Submission Services, Electronic Mariner Credential Record-Keeping and Renewal Alert Service. NMI assists its students through every step of the Coast Guard Application process, from preparation to submission. You can also choose to have your application and records saved on their server for future reference or later submissions. NMI offers this same assistance with Coast Guard applications to non-students for $125.
High academics combined with real world experience
NMI excels partly due to its combination of classroom experience and personal experience of the principles and topics under study. Having an intellectual grasp on the material is simply not enough. The best way to retain information is to discuss it and apply it firsthand. NMI always places the necessary book knowledge into context by providing interaction with mentors – people with decades of experience in the industry – who can act as role models and allay fears any young mariner might have about the industry.
One of the ways that NMI connects this knowledge and brings it to life is with their state-of-the-art simulators. The simulators not only puts students at the helm to work on fundamentals like navigating and steering, but also places the student in a variety of scenarios like changing weather conditions, emergency scenarios, or dealing with a broken rudder or piece of machinery.
This interaction does wonders for positive transfer of knowledge: it speeds up the process and helps the student better retain the information. The students want to hop behind the helm. They look forward to their time with the simulator. With the stress of actually damaging a vessel removed, the student can focus on the tasks and develop significant amounts of confidence before they get behind the wheel of the real thing.
Of course, there is no substitute for real-world experience, so NMI has a team of experienced personnel, who have spent decades in the industry and know the ins-and-outs of every aspect from entry level to mastery. The NMI faculty has lifetimes of experience, anecdotes, and lessons-learned to impart upon these students, who can easily see the passion and love for the sea within their instructors.
Upon completion of your courses at NMI, you are not left on your own to find work, and begin what may be your life-long career. The Student Services Office at NMI aids mariners in resume creation and job search assistance.
One of NMI’s goals is to simply become one of the strongest economic development tools of the Southcoast. They want to ensure young people who might not have had the opportunity to go to a typical four-year college, have an opportunity to get an education that results in employment.
Find out what has skyrocketed NMI into being one of the world’s foremost Maritime Institutes and perhaps start a new chapter in your life!
32 Washington St, Fairhaven, Massachusetts 02719
Phone: (508) 992-4025
EMail: registration@northeastmaritime.org
Facebook: facebook.com/Northeast.Maritime.Institute
Website: northeastmaritime.org/
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“My experience at northeast maritime has been very positive. The faculty and staff are there to ensure your success. The quality of the teaching is superb! I would recommend this College to anyone wishing to peruse a career in the maritime field!” -Elijah Simmons.
For those of you who do not know me, my name is Colby Costeira and I am a twenty year old deckhand employed by Boston Towing and Transportation. Growing up in a fishing family, I have always been in love with the sea. I started commercial scalloping at the young age of fourteen. I never had a Summer to myself where I could just sit back and relax with friends. My Summers consisted of nothing but hard work and a drive to always reach the next level in my career.
After graduating from Fairhaven High School, I continued to commercial fish because I really didn’t have a choice considering I decided not to go to college. After noticing that the division of marine fisheries was cutting back on our quota for the year, I came to the conclusion that there isn’t going to be much of a future in this industry. That is when I decided to go to Northeast Maritime Institute during my off time to take the Able Bodied Seamn course along with STCW. I had always known about the school right down the street from my house and during my senior year of high school I attended captain’s nights and received my 100 ton Master’s License.
NMI was nothing but helpful and behind me every step of the way with every course that I took there. The instructors were absolutely phenomenal, anything that I needed help on or had trouble understanding, each and every faculty member stood behind me and made sure that the material was drilled into my head.
Timarie Malo and Laura Frazier did everything they could to make sure I got into a good company where I could continue to pursue my career in the maritime industry and I can’t thank them enough for doing so.
I recommend this school to anyone and everyone that wants a career in the maritime industry. Whether you are interested in towing, sailing, or working on a container ship, this school will do everything they can to make sure that you achieve your goals and dreams. They definitely did that for me, and I know that they will for anyone with ambition.
I have been a deckhand with Boston Towing and Transportation for about one year now. I have returned to NMI to take the 200 Ton Captain’s Course and my Apprentice Mate Steersman. I have been getting ample time at the wheel and am looking to become a captain within the next couple of years. If there is any piece of advice I could give to any student at NMI, it would be to never give up, hard work always pays off, if you have a goal or dream, fight and work hard to achieve that goal every day you wake up, until it is achieved.
Dreams never become reality through magic or luck, it takes determination, ambition, and hard work. – Colby Costeira.
That’s a really great opportunity for new sailors and I wish I had this opportunity when I first started working – keep up the awesome blog!
A world class maritime institute I know. I am happy to see new opportunities being offered. This is a newly open door for everyone.