Traverse City’s Northwestern Michigan College gets $630,876 in state money for maritime training, new engines for its research vessel

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. — Northwestern Michigan College will receive $630,876 from the state to expand training for maritime and shipbuilding jobs, with much of it going to a research vessel the college uses to teach students how to map the Great Lakes floor.

NMC said it will use the money to replace the 57-year-old engines on the Northwestern, a 56-foot survey and research vessel, and to own multibeam echosounder technology for the first time, UpNorthLive reported Monday. Multibeam echosounders are a type of sonar that maps the lakebed with sound waves to calculate water depth.

The award is part of a $3 million round from the Michigan Department of Labor and Economic Opportunity and the Michigan Department of Transportation to five community colleges, 9&10 News reported. The grants can pay for equipment, instructor training and recruitment, and lab upgrades.

Up the road, too. North Central Michigan College in Petoskey received a nearly identical amount, about $631,000, and plans to grow its marine service technology, welding and metal fabrication programs, according to UpNorthLive.

Why it matters. NMC is home to the Great Lakes Maritime Academy, which trains deck and engineering officers for the Great Lakes and ocean fleets, and the college’s marine technology programs train students in underwater mapping and survey work. The state has tied the grants to Michigan’s first maritime strategy, which also opened $5 million in port facility grants, according to the state’s announcement.

The Ticker also reported the award. The colleges did not say when the new engines or sonar would be in place.

Sources:
UpNorthLive (WPBN/WGTU), Patrick Livingston, “State grants near $631K each to NMC and North Central to expand maritime training,” Oct. 19, 2026, https://upnorthlive.com/news/local/state-grants-near-631k-each-to-nmc-and-north-central-to-expand-maritime-training
9&10 News, “Northwestern Michigan College among 5 schools receiving maritime training funds,” Oct. 19, 2026, https://www.9and10news.com/2026/10/19/northwestern-michigan-college-among-5-schools-receiving-maritime-training-funds/
The Ticker, “NMC Lands $630,000 Grant from the State,” https://www.traverseticker.com/news/nmc-lands-630000-grant-from-the-state/
State of Michigan announcement via Newsroom America, “Michigan awards $3 million to five community colleges for maritime and shipbuilding training and opens $5 million in port facility grants” (maritime strategy, port grants), https://newsroomamerica.com/a/3BNrmiSBjMgEUwi8QehqmeyuHPG/michigan_awards_3_million_to_five_community_colleges_for_maritime_and_shipbuilding_training_and_opens_5_million_in_port_facility_grants_advancing_the_state_s_first_ever_maritime_strategy.html
Photo: Royalbroil, “Great Lakes Maritime Academy Building Traverse City Michigan.jpg,” Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0, cropped and color-adjusted, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Great_Lakes_Maritime_Academy_Building_Traverse_City_Michigan.jpg

Traverse City

Tags: Traverse City · Northwestern Michigan College · Maritime · Workforce Training · Grants