WASHINGTON, D.C. — U.S. Sens. Olympia J. Snowe and Susan Collins recently announced $392,913 in funding for Maine Maritime Academy from the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The grant will be used for mariner training. The funding was generated through the disposal of obsolete vessels at the National Defense Reserve Fleet anchorages in California, Virginia, and Texas. Twenty-five percent of the profit from the scrap steel transactions must be distributed to maritime academies, as required by the National Maritime Heritage Act.