MPT welcomes Dr. Crystal Craft as Vice Principal

05 Dec 2024 by Lisa Morley

Maritime Professional Training Welcomes Dr. Crystal Allen Craft as Vice Principal of Academic Affairs

Maritime Professional Training (MPT) has been a cornerstone in the community, serving as an essential resource for mariners, yacht crew, and industry leaders to advance their careers on the water. It's forward-thinking decisions like this - the appointment of experienced leaders - that set MPT apart, constantly evolving to ensure its students are prepared for the challenges of the modern maritime industry.

Today, MPT is proud to announce the addition of Dr. Crystal Allen Craft as Vice Principal of Academic Affairs. An experienced leader, Dr. Craft brings extensive maritime, engineering, and leadership history to this role, contributing to MPT’s position as the U.S.’s largest private maritime training school.

Proven Leadership

Dr. Craft began her professional career at New York Maritime College (SUNY), earning a dual degree in engineering and humanities in 2001.

Her early years at sea saw her managing complex engineering operations as a licensed unlimited engineer with the American Maritime Officers (AMO). She handled maintenance and repair of propulsion engines, steam systems, and an array of vital machinery while mentoring junior engineers and ensuring the safety of her crew.

After a decade at sea, she transitioned into a class surveyor with the American Bureau of Shipping (ABS). Here, Dr. Craft conducted thousands of vessel inspections, ensuring structural integrity and compliance with global maritime safety regulations. From overseeing the construction of Fast Response Cutters with the U.S. Coast Guard to ensuring operational efficiency in shipyards across the United States and the Caribbean, she continuously proved herself as a leader who could solve any challenge she came across.

Pivoting toward the cruise industry, she joined Royal Caribbean, where her roles as Project Manager for the New Build and Revitalization department and later as Propulsion Manager for the entire fleet shows her capacity to excel in high-stakes environments.

Throughout her career, Dr. Craft always devoted attention to the human side of the maritime field. While pursuing her master’s degree in education, she contributed to flag state inspections, became a sought-after guest speaker, and trained the next generation of seafarers. Her passion for teaching led her to earn her doctoral degree in Leadership and Management in an Organizational Setting in 2022. Her study emerged from a gap in the existing literature regarding the need to create cohesion and a shared identity for seafarers to lower the human error rate on ships an astounding 96% (Allen, C. L. (2022).

What makes Dr. Craft's story even more inspiring is the foundation of leadership and perseverance built during her high school years. From breaking records as a state champion in javelin, volunteering as a firefighter, or serving as a Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Naval Sea Cadets, her early achievements were merely a glimpse of the career that lay ahead.

Her current role as Vice Principal of Academic Affairs at Maritime Professional Training (MPT) seamlessly integrates her expertise in engineering, education, and leadership. She'll supervise the daily operations of the institution’s instructors but also guides and supports ongoing professional development, ensuring training programs evolve to meet the industry’s ever-changing demands both culturally and regulatory.  

“Dr. Craft’s appointment reflects MPT’s unwavering commitment to excellence and innovation in seafarer training and assessment. Her remarkable blend of hands-on industry experience, academic achievement, and leadership acumen will not only elevate our training curriculum but also inspire the next generation of maritime professionals. We are thrilled to have her join our team as we continue to set the standard for maritime training worldwide,” says John F. Flanagan, Academic Principal

More Than a School

Maritime Professional Training (MPT) is more than certifications or licenses. They have trained thousands of mariners, yacht crew, and industry leaders, becoming known for their exceptional pass rates and comprehensive courses spanning STCW Basic Training, yacht and merchant marine careers, and captain’s licenses. But their influence reaches beyond the classroom. From community-focused initiatives like their annual Thanksgiving Food Drive benefiting The Pantry of Broward, Inc., to being a founding and ongoing partner of Junior Achievement of South Florida’s Maritime Storefront, Sea the World, to leading-edge training facilities with a "mariner-first" mentality, MPT proves they are invested in the success of their students and the betterment of their community.

Located in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, five minutes from Port Everglades and the Fort Lauderdale International Airport.  MPT is the most complete full service private maritime school in the country and has been training mariners since 1983. Training 10’s of thousands of mariners, yachting professionals, and enthusiasts for over 40 years has enabled MPT to develop programs that are success oriented, with unbeatable pass rates, as well as being cost and time efficient.  MPT offers all levels of certification, license and document study programs, many of which offer in-school testing, are USCG Approved and are recognized by many foreign administrations. Training programs are designed to meet and exceed IMO standards and are fully STCW Compliant. The Fort Lauderdale based campuses host over 45,000 square feet of classrooms, deck, and engineering training labs.

Adding Dr. Craft to their leadership team sends a message to the maritime world. MPT isn’t just a school: it’s where careers, innovations, and legacies are built.

Why This Matters

What MPT values most is their students. They’re shaping leaders who will revolutionize oceans and industries they work in. The addition of Dr. Crystal Allen Craft deepens this mission, bringing fresh perspectives, a new standard of expertise, and a driving need for advancing maritime education.