Ten Maine Maritime Academy students have had their Coast Guard licensing exams cancelled due to the partial government shutdown, and 16 more might if the shutdown doesn’t end next week.
The partial government shutdown affecting the Department of Homeland Security also impacts the Coast Guard, which has closed its exam centers as a result.
That could mean delayed graduation and work opportunities for students at the Castine school amid a nationwide mariner shortage that has raised alarms in recent years for the future of international trade and national defense.
The partial government shutdown is in its second week. Senate Democrats have blocked funding for the Department of Homeland Security as they push for changes to the Trump administration’s immigration enforcement policies after two people were killed by federal agents in Minnesota last month.
Talks to end the shutdown seemed to have stalled on Tuesday, and a deal won’t likely be reached this week, according to Politico. The Coast Guard is still operating search and rescue missions and other “essential” functions, according to its website.
If the shutdown continues into next week, the 16 Maine Maritime Academy students who need Coast Guard licensing to graduate in May will miss their exams and won’t have time to reschedule them until classes end, according to the school. They had scheduled the exams for their spring break.
The 10 students whose exams were already cancelled have finished their academics and will likely have an easier time rescheduling, Spratt said. Some are enrolled in limited license programs that don’t require a license to graduate, but need one to work at a higher level.
The three and a half days of testing are administered by the U.S. Coast Guard’s Regional Exam Centers. Students — including the 16 scheduled next week — need to pass the tests to graduate from the school’s unlimited license programs, which include maritime transportation operations, engineering operations, marine engineering technology and marine systems engineering.
The agency’s Boston center offers exams on campus in January, but some students take them at regional centers at other points in the year or need to retest on some sections, according to Christine Spratt, who schedules the exams for Castine students.
If the shutdown continues into mid-March, 34 students will be affected overall.
“The impact goes beyond next week,” Spratt said. “It’s an all-stop for our students to be able to get out into the industry.”
Students will still be able to walk with their classes at graduation ceremonies even if their exams are delayed.
A smaller number of licensing exams were delayed by the government shutdown in the fall, according to Spratt. She didn’t have numbers available for that time period.
Still, they will be able to take their exams eventually.
“It’s not the end of the world for them,” she said. “Even though a lot of them think it is right now.”
