CSA honors 96 Crowley vessels with Devlin Award for safety

(NEW ORLEANS) ­— Ninety-six vessels owned or managed by Crowley Maritime Corp. recently received Jones F. Devlin Awards from the Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA) in recognition of their outstanding safety records in 2015. Each year the CSA grants Devlin Award certificates to manned merchant vessels that have operated for two or more years without incurring a lost-time injury (LTI), specifically highlighting the skills and dedication of the crewmembers responsible for safe vessel operations.

Crowley’s 2015 Devlin Award-worthy vessels together have achieved 639 years of service without an LTI. Of the 96 awarded, 23 have gone without incident for 10 or more consecutive years, including the following notable vessels: Valdez Star, 25 years; Gus E, M/V Chief, M/V Guide and Roger G, each with 17 years; M/V Aku, M/V Veteren, M/V Vigilant and tug Nanuq, each with 16 years; and Cape Edmont with 15 years. Crowley’s vessels have earned Devlin Awards annually since 2005.

 “We have been holding these annual award ceremonies since 1958,” said Kathy Metcalf, CSA president. “This was the 58th anniversary of the program. For that initial year, we honored six vessels having a total of 12 years operation with no lost-time incidents. This year, awards were conferred on 1,522 vessels that operated 10,084 years without a lost-time incident. This extraordinary record is directly attributable to the professionalism of our seafarers and the dedication of shore-based company personnel to safe operation.”

Additionally, the Crowley-managed USNS Impeccable (T-AGOS 23), a Military Sealift Command (MSC) Impeccable-class ocean surveillance ship, was given a citation of merit for rescuing 11 fishermen struggling to stay afloat on a sinking vessel that had been adrift for five days in the South China Sea. Capt. Seven Gilkey, master of USNS Invincible, and T-AGOS/T-AGM port captain and program manager Capt. Jonathan "JC" Christian accepted the award on behalf of USNS Impeccable, which is currently at sea, from Rear Adm. David Callahan, commander, U.S. Coast Guard District 8.

“Safety is at the top of Crowley’s core values and strategic goals. The vessels receiving Devlin Awards exemplify this Crowley core value, because they live it every day — for themselves, their families and Crowley,” said Crowley’s Mike Golonka, vice president, government services.

By Professional Mariner Staff