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A Salute To The American Merchant Marine Leadership In World Maritime Safety Shown on the dais at Annua! Awards Luncheon, left to right: Rev. Msgr. Thomas McGovern; Capt. Thomas King, Eastern Region Director, Maritime Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce; Rear Adm. James J. Gracey, Commandant, Ninth U.S. Coast Guard District, Cleveland; Dave Walker, general chairman, Marine Sec- tion, National Safety Council; Al May, vice president, American Institute of Merchant Shipping; Fred S. Sherman, chairman of board of Marine Transport Lines; Rear Adm. Sam H. Moore, Commander, Military Sealift Command, and Capt. Jones F. Devlin. U.S.-flag shipping — on the oceans, the Great Lakes and Inland Waterways — has again proven to be an undisputed leader in world maritime safety. This was evident during the An- nual Ship Safety Awards Lunch- eon, sponsored by the American Institute of Merchant Shipping and the National Safety Council's Marine Section, held at the Down- town Athletic Club, New York, N.Y. U.S.-flag ships of all types were honored for, collectively, op- erating more than 127 consecu- tive years without a crew member losing a full turn on watch be- cause of an occupational injury. Government officials and key executives from all coasts and all segments of the U.S. maritime industry attended the luncheon in a salute to the American Mer- chant Marine's leadership in ma- rine safety. Two types of awards were given. One was the National Safety Council Awards, covering a vari- ety of interests, from dock work- ers, dredgers and towboats to shipyards and shipping fleets. These awards are based on the lowest personnel accident fre- quency rate among competing companies for the previous year. They were presented by Rear Adm. James S. Gracey, Com- mander, Ninth U.S. Coast Guard District (Great Lakes), and David S. Walker, manager, Boston Tow Boat Company, and general chair- man of the NSC Marine Section. The second, the Jones F. Devlin Awards, sponsored by AIMS and given to individual U.S. ships operating for extended accident- free periods (two, four and more years), were presented by AIMS vice president Albert E. May and Capt. Jones F. Devlin, retired United States Lines' vice presi- dent (Operations), for whom the Devlin Awards are named. Devlin Awards were presented to 27 ships owned by 10 U.S.-flag companies and three vessels oper- ated by the Military Sealift Com- mand. The 30 vessels collectively sailed 46,355 days (127 years) without a lost-time personnel ac- cident onboard. As an example of unusual safety competence, in the Devlin Awards' Dry Cargo Category, four vessels of United States Lines were honored for operating a total of 6,730 days (over 17 years) without a crew member losing a full turn on watch due to injury. One of those, the S/S American Lark, won a special Devlin award for sailing eight years without a lost-time person- nel accident—a contest record for U.S.-flag cargoliners. For the first time, a U.S.-flag barge-carrying vessel won an award. Charles P. McFaull, safety director, Delta Steamship Lines, accepted a two- year award for the lighter aboard ship (LASH) vessel S/S Delta Norte, which has sailed 827 acci- dent-free days to and from South America. In the tanker category, Texaco Inc. led the way with six winners. Its Texaco Montana and Texaco Georgia operated 11 and 10 years, respectively, without a crew in- jury. Getty Oil Company's Wil- mington Getty and New York Getty also won top honors, the two ships steaming a total of 21 years with perfect personnel safety records. For the fourth consecutive year, ships of the Military Sealift Command qualified in the Devlin Awards program, open to the Command's civilian-manned ves- sels. Two-year awards for the USNS Atakapa, Range Sentinel and De Steiguer were presented to the Commander of MSC, Navy Rear Adm. Sam H. Moore. In the NSC Marine Section Safety Contest, first place plaques are given in four areas: Tanker, Dry Cargo-Passenger Vessels, Stevedoring, and Shipbuilding and Repair Divisions. First place plaque winner in the Tanker Divisions was Getty Oil Company (Eastern Operations- Marine), which had the lowest fleet injury frequency rate for the previous year in competition with other company fleets on all seacoasts. Texaco was runner-up in that division. In the Dry Cargo and Passen- ger Vessel Division, a first place plaque was presented to the Ford Motor Company's Marine Depart- ment, Dearborn, Mich., which won in the Great Lakes Straight Deck Category. In addition, Huron Cement Co., Detroit, won first place recognition in the Great Lakes' "Self Unloader" Cargo Ship Category. The U.S. Naval Ship Repair Facility in Yokosuka, Japan, won a first place plaque in the U.S. Government Shipbuilding and Re- pair Division. A second place cer- tificate in that Division went to the U.S. Naval Ship Repair Yard, Subic Bay (the Philippines). A first place plaque went to Hilo (Hawaii) Transportation and Terminal Co. in the Stevedoring Division's General Cargo Cate- gory. In NSC's Harbor Equipment Division (dredging vessels, tugs, barges, etc.), first place recogni- tion went to the Corps of Engi- neers' Missouri River Division, Omaha, Neb. The National Safety Council also honored the U.S. towing in- dustry. First place plaques were presented by Admiral Gracey to Texaco's Marine Department, Port Arthur, Texas; Exxon Company, USA's Marine Department, Bay- town, Texas, and Western Trans- portation Co., Portland, Ore. A second place certificate in the tow- ing contest also went to Exxon Company, USA's Marine Depart- ment in Houston, Texas. Special towing awards were also given for perfect safety rec- ords (no personnel injuries in 1976) to Boston Tow Boat Com- pany, Levingston Shipbuilding Company, Orange, Texas, Mobile River Sawmill Division, Mt. Ver- non, Ala., and Exxon Company, U.S.A., Everett, Mass. In a joint statement, Messrs. Walker and May said: "We are well aware of certain unfortunate maritime tragedies that made headlines this year. However, suc- cessful U.S. maritime safety pro- grams may not be making the headlines but are having a sig- nificant impact in this country. We are well into a national pro- gram to make our industry safer and healthier for every man or woman who goes to sea for a liv- ing or works shoreside. "The Awards we are present- ing today," they continued, "rep- resent the hard and dedicated work of U.S. maritime Safety Directors who, backed by the dedication of topside shipping executives, are conducting far- reaching marine safety cam- paigns, in cooperation with the National Safety Council, that have led to safer ships, safer shipyards and safer working conditions in the harbors and on the docks." As to "safer Ships," the NSC and Devlin Awards winners are testimonials to this. The 11 U.S.- flag organizations and the num- ber of Devlin award-winning ships from each include The Cleveland- Cliffs Iron Company (1) ; Colum- bia Transportation Division-Ogle- bay Norton Company (3) ; Delta Steamship Lines, Inc. (1) ; Getty Oil Company (4) ; International Ocean Transportation Corp. (2) ; Lykes Bros. Steamship Co., Inc. (3) ; Military Sealift Command (3) ; The Ohio River Company (1) ; Standard Oil Company (In- diana) (2) ; Texaco Inc. (6), and United States Lines, Inc. (4). Henry Olson Joins Morris Guralnick Staff Henry A. Olson Morris Guralnick Associates, Inc., naval architects and engi- neers, 550 Kearney Street, San Francisco, Calif. 94108, have an- nounced that Henry A. Olson has joined the staff in the position of project manager. MGA is one of the largest private offices of naval architects in the West. Each major project is assigned a manager whose duties include assuring the timely delivery and accuracy of work packages. Mr. Olson joins the MGA staff after spending some 10 years with American President Lines. Among his duties at APL, Mr. Olson was project naval architect for the new Pacesetter-class of container- ships. Mr. Olson had charge of the development of this class from concept, through preliminary de- sign stages, construction, delivery, and post delivery guarantee work. Prior to assuming his duties at APL, Mr. Olson joined the United States Coast Guard upon gradu- ating from school, and spent over three years with that organiza- tion both ashore and at sea. He was commissioned a lieutenant in the Coast Guard Reserve. Mr. Olson has a Bachelor of Science degree in naval architec- ture and marine engineering from the Webb Institute of Naval Ar- chitecture. He holds memberships in The Society of Naval Archi- tects and Marine Engineers and the American Society of Naval Engineers. 30 Maritime Reporter/Engineering News
