Vallejo college for mariners hires 1st female training ship captain

Samaro Bannister-Schneider will be the interim captain of the training ship Golden Bear (TSGB), a vessel operated by the Vallejo-based California State University Maritime Academy, the only degree-granting maritime academy on the West Coast.

It reported Bannister will serve as Cal Maritime’s first female captain of the ship.

“Captain Bannister is an experienced master mariner who brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to Cal Maritime and I know that every cadet will benefit immensely from her leadership on Training Ship Golden Bear,” stated Cal Maritime President Thomas A. Cropper in the announcement.

Her most recent navigation experience, the university stated, was as the commanding officer of the Navy vehicle cargo ship Soderman. Bannister spent over 14 years sailing the deep sea with Maersk Line Ltd and Ocean Ships Inc. in senior and junior positions. She worked in direct support of Operation Iraqi Freedom. She has also served in senior positions for Joint Logistics Over the Sea (JLOTS) off Guatemala in 2007 and off Lynnhaven, Va. in 2008, the announcement stated.

The ship she will oversee in her new post is the primary training platform “on which cadets apply technological skills introduced in the classroom and leadership skills acquired from their work assignments and responsibilities with the Corps of Cadets,” the college stated.

Its serves nearly 1,000 students and offers undergraduate degrees preparing students for careers in engineering, transportation, international relations, business, and global logistics