Glen Paine, Executive Director of the Maritime Institute of Technology and Graduate Studies (MITAGS) and Pacific Northwest Maritime Institute, has announced that the Institute has entered into a formal agreement with the National Weather Service's (NWS) Marine Prediction Center (MPC) located in
Camp Springs, Maryland. Mr. Paine and Dr. James E. Hoke, MPC Director, signed the agreement on September 5, 2001.
The agreement states MPC will provide weather instruction, as time and resources permit, in MITAGS' Heavy Weather Avoidance course, Marine Weather course, Master Mates and Operator course and other licensing courses requiring weather skills. The agreement also allows for MITAGS to seek grants and to partner with MPC on projects of mutual interest, such as the development of warning and forecast products for mariner safety.
On a quarterly basis, both parties will reassess study needs, funding availability and issues related to public benefits. Both parties, by signing the agreement, have committed to work together to identify and further the standards of training in MITAGS' weather-related courses for the purpose of advancing maritime safety.