U.S. Merchant Marine Academy: Actions Needed to Sustain Progress on Facility and Infrastructure Improvements
Fast Facts
The Department of Transportation oversees the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy. It's the only federal service academy that trains and certifies mariners to support domestic and international trade and the U.S. military's transport needs.
Our Q&A report looks at Academy facilities and infrastructure that are deteriorating, and renovation projects that are planned and underway. Leadership of these renovations has been inconsistent. Also, the Academy doesn't have policies for estimating capital improvement costs, such as the repair of a campus seawall.
We recommended Transportation address these issues, and more.
U.S. Merchant Marine Academy Stormwater Management System Project Aims to Prevent Water Intrusion in Campus Buildings
Highlights
What GAO Found
The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (Academy) is the nation's only federal service academy dedicated to training licensed mariners to support domestic and international trade and the transport needs of the U.S. military. It is operated by the Maritime Administration, which is part of the Department of Transportation (DOT). Since 2022, DOT has made several changes to the management of facilities and infrastructure at the Academy that have contributed to recent progress in addressing campus needs, including:
- DOT and the Maritime Administration established two oversight bodies to review and approve capital projects and help ensure that those projects address the campus's needs;
- DOT detailed a senior executive to temporarily serve as the lead official for facilities and infrastructure improvements on campus; and
- The Academy combined its maintenance and capital planning departments to improve communication and coordination on improvements.
Since 2022, the Academy completed three capital improvement projects, including renovating an athletic field, and has work underway on four others. This includes restarting construction on a long-delayed renovation of Samuels Hall, which houses the campus's simulator to train midshipmen on vessel navigation. The Maritime Administration and the Academy have also begun developing a long-range master plan for the campus, which they plan to complete by December 2024.
However, GAO found the progress made thus far at the Academy is fragile because (1) DOT and the Maritime Administration have not established continuous leadership at the Academy to manage facilities and infrastructure improvements and (2) the Academy and the Maritime Administration have not conducted strategic workforce planning to determine the needed skills and capabilities for the Academy's Office of Facilities and Infrastructure. Focused attention from DOT on these issues could help ensure that the Academy has the dedicated leadership, resources, and skills to address long-standing challenges with campus conditions.
GAO also found that the Academy does not have policies establishing how it estimates costs for capital improvements, and that the Academy's cost estimates for two new projects—to manage stormwater and to repair and rehabilitate the campus seawall—do not reflect cost estimating best practices. Developing such policies and procedures would give the Academy the tools necessary to assess the costs of its forthcoming master plan and could help the Academy establish priorities for implementing that plan.
Why GAO Did This Study
Numerous reports have been issued since at least 2010 documenting poor and deteriorating conditions on the Academy's campus. In November 2021, in response to a statutory requirement, the National Academy of Public Administration issued a report that identified a wide range of facility and infrastructure problems on the campus and recommended changes to oversight and management. The James M. Inhofe National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2023 includes a provision for GAO to review capital improvement efforts at the Academy. (Pub. L. No. 117-263, § 3516, 136 Stat. 2395, 3073 (2022)). This report examines progress addressing the Academy's facility and infrastructure issues. DOT agreed with GAO's recommendations.
Recommendations
GAO recommends that the Maritime Administration ensure that the Academy (1) maintain continuous leadership for the Academy's Office of Facilities and Infrastructure, (2) conduct strategic workforce planning to determine the needed resources for the Office of Facilities and Infrastructure, and (3) develop and implement policies and procedures for cost estimation that align with cost estimating best practices.
Recommendations for Executive Action
| Agency Affected | Recommendation | Status |
|---|---|---|
| Maritime Administration |
Priority Rec.
The Administrator of the Maritime Administration should take steps to ensure that the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy maintains continuous leadership in the Academy's Office of Facilities and Infrastructure. Such steps should include establishing a dedicated leadership and implementation team in the Office of Facilities and Infrastructure and succession planning for leadership positions in that office. (Recommendation 1) |
As of September 2026, MARAD has hired a permanent Director of Facilities and Infrastructure Management, whose full-time post of duty is the Academy's campus in Kings Point, NY. However, MARAD has not filled other vacant leadership positions within the Office of Facilities and Infrastructure and not provided information to GAO on MARAD's efforts to develop succession plans for the office, as GAO recommended. GAO will continue to follow MARAD's progress in implementing this recommendation.
|
| Maritime Administration |
Priority Rec.
The Administrator of the Maritime Administration should ensure that the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy conducts strategic workforce planning to determine the needed resources, capabilities, and any skill gaps in the Office of Facilities and Infrastructure. (Recommendation 2) |
As of September 2026, MARAD has partially addressed this recommendation. In August 2025, the USMMA established standardized procedures for conducting strategic workforce planning across the Academy. Specifically, the policy lays out the Academy's process for holding strategic workforce planning meetings that align organizational goals with human capital needs, identify and address workforce gaps, and ensure effective resource allocation, among other purposes. However, MARAD has not provided information on the extent to which the USMMA has implemented this policy to determine the needed resources, capabilities, and skill gaps in the Office of Facilities and Infrastructure, as GAO recommended. Furthermore, MARAD previously reported that its Office of Human Resources awarded a contract in July 2024 to help MARAD design and implement a comprehensive Strategic Human Capital Plan, which will include a cohesive strategic human capital plan for the Academy. MARAD has not yet provided a completed plan to GAO. GAO will continue to follow MARAD's progress in implementing this recommendation.
|
| Maritime Administration |
Priority Rec.
The Administrator of the Maritime Administration should ensure that the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy develops and implements cost estimating policies and procedures for facility and infrastructure projects that align with best practices for cost estimating. (Recommendation 3) |
As of September 2026, MARAD officials informed GAO that it has established an interagency agreement with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to provide planning, engineering, design, project and construction management, and related services for the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy through April of 2035. The officials told GAO that under this agreement, the Army Corps' New York District will be the program managers of record for the Academy's campus modernization effort and that the Army Corps has formal cost estimating policies and procedures. GAO is requesting additional information from MARAD to confirm the specific cost estimating procedures used for facility and infrastructure projects at the Academy. GAO will continue to monitor MARAD's progress in implementing this recommendation.
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