MARINE TECH FIRE ACADEMY, INC.
FT. LAUDERDALE, FLORIDA

There are many schools that offer very limited instruction at high costs to you. At MPT, we know that students learn best by hearing, seeing, and doing! We individualize our student's needs, and never forget that our success depends on your success. This creates confident, successful students, and satisfied customers. I believe that is why our school has grown faster than any other maritime training school in the country. Our client list includes commercial shipping companies, marine corporations, the military, vessel management firms, the world's best super yachts and thousands of individuals whose word of mouth recommendations are responsible for our success. We invite you to come and tour our school, meet our instructors, talk to our students, and see what we have to offer. Once you have seen us, you won't go anywhere else! All U.S. seamen (citizens and green card holders) are certified, documented and licensed by the U.S. Coast Guard. Anyone holding such a certification or license is a de facto member of the U.S. Merchant Marine. There is no fancy uniform and it doesn't come with a rifle or sword (unfortunately). These are the professionals that man our commercial fleet of vessels. Everything from the massive ocean going tankers and container ships, longer than the highest skyscraper is tall, to the ferryboats carrying hundreds of thousands of people to work every day. From the tugs pushing barges full of grain, ore, and petroleum products to the fishing fleets harvesting the bounty of the sea, and research vessels trying to unlock the mysteries that lie beneath the ocean waves, which by the way cover 70 percent of our planet. It's easy to see that the options are numerous for someone choosing a seagoing career. If you want to stay close to home there are jobs available on vessels on our inland waterways as well as in our harbors. If you like to travel the merchant service is an ideal way to see the world. We as a nation and the world as a whole rely extensively on the maritime industry to move raw materials as well as consumer products, and every one of those vessels have merchant marine professionals guiding them to their ports of call. You will also find them standing on the bridge and manning the engine rooms of passenger vessels and harbor tugs. There is a large population of civilian mariners operating the growing number of support ships for our military. The choices are virtually endless. Simply put, any vessel that floats and generates an income is a commercial vessel. The only vessels that would not be considered commercial are private yachts that never charter and the boat you and your buddies go fishing on, provided no one paid to go fishing with you. Even vessels that do not try to make a profit will be considered commercial if they have an income (such as a non-profit sail training ship). The reasons are many, but they need to be yours. The life of a seaman can be filled with excitement and boredom, glamour and drudgery all in the same day. It can be very financially rewarding or you can struggle to get by, just as in any other walk of life. Perhaps the romantic view of the life of a sailor is what you seek or the adventure of travel. Whatever reason is yours, it can lead you to a vast and energetic industry that is well worth the pursuit. If you have an urge to travel there may not be a better way to see the world. The ships that carry the worlds goods travel to the most exotic of locations offering the seafarer a true glimpse of the many cultures and customs that make up this planet. While delighting in our differences you will also get the chance to marvel at the true brotherhood of mankind, making friends and contacts that will truly last a lifetime. Friendships that you will make with your shipmates are in some ways stronger than the bonds of family. In many respects you are joining a fraternity of highly skilled professionals that share a special relationship. You not only work with these people you live with them and depend on them. You are a team that must work together for your own safety and the safety of the ship. The US marine transportation system encompasses a national and global network of navigable ocean, lake, river, and inland waterway routes. The system includes over 3,500 bulk oil transfer facilities, 10,000 marinas, a network of locks and dams, over 97,000 aids to navigation, commercial vessels making over 70,000 port calls annually, 110,000 fishing vessels and 20 million recreational vessels. As the worlds largest trading nation, the U.S. exports and imports about one-fourth of all global merchandise trade ($1.9 trillion in 2001). The largest parts of this merchandise trade - over one billion tons of cargo - are moved by water. Another billion tons of cargo is carried in domestic waterborne movements, which serve over 90 percent of the U.S. population. By the year 2020, US foreign trade in goods is expected to grow by more than half of its current tonnage, and inland waterways traffic is expected to increase as well. As ships and transportation systems become more complex, training requirements will increase, and crews are currently required to be trained and qualified to operate in accordance with international standards (STCW). Marine Transportation is an integral component of the US transportation system and is essential to our nations economy. The entire US transportation infrastructure, including ports and waterways and maritime training schools, are expected to be able to handle and provide this projected increase. As of 31 December 2004, there were over 250,000 mariners with Merchant Mariner Documents, Merchant Marine Officers License or both, issued by the United States Coast Guard. Thank you for your interest in MPT's school and services. We would like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves to you. We are located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, five minutes from Port Everglades, the International Airport, & our sunny beaches. MPT is the most complete full service private maritime school in the country and has been training mariners since 1983!