SEWARD, Alaska— The AVTEC Alaska Maritime Training Center announced today that it received a donation of $95,000 from the refining, marketing and logistics company Andeavor. The donation will support AVTEC’s arctic and ice navigation readiness project, which will upgrade the school’s full mission bridge ship simulator to enhance its ice navigation capabilities.

The donation was prompted by a two-day training event sponsored by Andeavor (formerly Tesoro) and hosted at AVTEC’s Alaska Maritime Training Center. The event provided more than thirty ship masters and pilots the opportunity to hone their skills in navigating the ice-covered waters of Cook Inlet.

The licensed deck officers participated in ten training scenarios navigating through ice in Cook Inlet that was programmed into the Alaska Maritime Training Center’s three interactive full mission bridge ship simulators. It was during this training event that Andeavor announced the gift, which will be directed at enhancing the bridge simulators through an upgrade of hardware and software.

“Employers rely on the Alaska Maritime Training Center to develop the skills their workforce needs to succeed,” said Labor Commissioner Heidi Drygas. “This generous donation from Andeavor will ensure AVTEC continues to be a leader in top quality maritime training for Alaskans.”[xyz-ihs snippet=”adsense-body-ad”]“With a long history of responsible operation in the state, we know that Alaska’s maritime environment is one of the most challenging in the world,” said Marc Bayer, Senior Director, Marine Operations at Andeavor. “This investment in AVTEC and our collaboration with the Alaska Maritime Training Center to strengthen regional preparedness is keenly aligned with who we are and our steadfast commitment to protect the environment and create cleaner, safer communities.”

AVTEC, located in Seward, is the only statewide post-secondary vocational training center operated by the State of Alaska. For more information about the Alaska Maritime Training Center, or any of AVTEC’s programs, visit AVTEC. For more information about Andeavor, visit www.andeavor.com.

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