T/S State of Michigan

The Maritime Academy is home to the 224-foot former Navy submarine surveillance ship Persistent, which is now the T/S State of Michigan.

The vessel is relatively new, having been built in 1986 as part of a series of 18 Stalwart-class T-AGOS vessels designed to tow highly sensitive sonar arrays for the tracking of Soviet submarines. As the Soviet threat diminished in the 1990's, the Navy decided to decommission the T-AGOS fleet, and in 1998 Persistent and sister ship Vindicator were transferred to the U.S. Coast Guard for primary use in drug interdiction.

While under Coast Guard ownership, the Persistent was overhauled and repowered, but eventually deemed too slow for offshore drug enforcement and made available to other government agencies. Working through the U.S. Maritime Administration, the Maritime Academy negotiated the transfer of the vessel to our harbor in Traverse City. The Training Ship supplements other training vessels and allows our cadets to put into practice the theory and skill sets taught in the classroom. Cadets take great pride in the State of Michigan and value the sea time underway prior to their commercial sea projects.

State of Michigan at the Maritime Academy Pier
With the New Maritime Academy Building In the Background