May 7, 2009 3:39 pm US/Eastern
Kings Point Academy In NY Gets Anti-Piracy Funding
Merchant Marines Get Additional $8 Million Of Federal Stimulus Money
KINGS POINT, N.Y. (CBS) ―
A lawmaker says Long Island's U.S. Merchant Marine Academy is getting an additional $8 million in federal funding to boost anti-piracy training.
Sen. Charles Schumer says the academy at Kings Point is getting $74 million in President Barack Obama's budget, up from $66 million.
Kings Point awards bachelor's degrees in marine engineering or marine transportation, and a merchant marine officer's license.
Graduates are required to spend five years in the maritime industry and eight years in the U.S. Naval Reserve as payback for a free college education.
The issue of pirate attacks has been in the headlines recently, after a U.S. flagged ship was attacked and its captain held for several days off the coast of Somalia. That siege ended when Navy SEALs shot and killed three of the pirates.
The Merchant Marine Academy was dedicated on September 30, 1943, by President Franklin D. Roosevelt after using temporary facilities for the Corps' first five years.
(© 2010 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)
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