Maine Maritime Academy’s training ship will not be docking in the British city of Portsmouth during its annual training cruise.
Its Portsmouth berth “will not be available as planned due to the reassignment of naval vessels,” the school announced on its Facebook page Friday. “We apologize for any inconveniences that this change may cause. The port itinerary is always subject to change due to a variety of factors — such is a life at sea.”
The State of Maine will instead visit the United Kingdom with a call on Southampton, about 50 miles northwest of Portsmouth, during the 70-day cruise.
Close to 300 students, faculty and staff began the voyage when the ship left Castine on Wednesday. A staple of MMA life since the academy was created in 1941, the cruise allows cadets to learn the rigors of their profession in something like real-life conditions.
Among the ship’s scheduled stops are Vigo and Barcelona, Spain; Tallinn, Estonia; and Oslo, Norway. Items already mailed to Portsmouth will be forwarded to Southampton. School officials will announce the new forwarding address as soon as they have it.
A number of cadets told the BDN they were looking forward to the stop in Portsmouth.