Transforming Lives Through Maritime Opportunity
Education · Training · Career Development for the next generation of mariners — at no cost to the students who need it most.
Eliminating barriers to a life at sea.
HLS Maritime Academy exists to remove the financial and systemic obstacles that keep talented young adults from entering the maritime industry — by delivering high-quality, no-cost training that integrates rigorous classroom learning with real, hands-on experience aboard working vessels.
A more equitable maritime workforce.
We envision a world where every passionate, capable young adult has a clear pathway into the maritime profession — regardless of socioeconomic background. We aim to become the national benchmark in nonprofit maritime education.
Why Now
A maritime workforce shortage meets a generation of young adults eager for a path forward.
Our Programs
Three integrated pathways — classroom, vessel, and career — that turn aspiration into a credentialed maritime career.
Academic & Technical Training
Seamanship, navigation, and marine engineering taught by credentialed instructors using industry-standard curricula and simulators.
Vessel Refit Program
Our signature experiential model — students work on, maintain and restore vessels alongside professional mentors, learning real trades on real ships.
Career Support
Industry certifications, résumé development, job placement, apprenticeships, and a lifelong alumni network of working mariners.
Live Labs & Classrooms at Sea
HLS strategically acquires decommissioned, distressed, or surplus vessels — tugs, ferries, even superyachts — and turns them into Floating classrooms. Students perform real work in welding, marine electrical, propulsion, HVAC, and hull maintenance & repair, then either sail the restored vessel as part of our Floating Campus or see it sold to fund the next class.
It's a self-sustaining model that through hands on training converts refit vessels into revenue that recycles back into student tuition coverage.
Learn More
The cadets who become our mariners.
Young Adults 18–26
Motivated individuals seeking a meaningful, well-paying career on the water.
Economically Disadvantaged
Students for whom traditional maritime training costs are a prohibitive barrier.
Underrepresented Communities
Minorities and groups historically excluded from maritime career pipelines.
Veterans
A Military to Merchant Mariner Path for Service members translating military experience into civilian maritime careers.
Displaced Workers
Adults transitioning from declining industries into a growing global sector.
Foster & Justice-System Youth
Young adults aging out of foster care or juvenile systems who need a structured launch.