Houston – The US Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) honored Mr. John Hatley, Americas Vice President Ship Power for Wärtsilä North America with its Rear Admiral Lauren S. McCready Award at the annual Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) meeting held in Houston on Friday, October 17th.
The Lauren S. McCready Award recognizes those who are members of SNAME and are graduates of the US Merchant Marine Academy, Kings Point. Â The recipients have displayed strong dedication to the maritime industry and have contributed to the industry’s technical achievements. Â The award dates back to 1967 and is named after RADM Lauren S. McCready, who is known for establishing the engineering department at USMMA, Kings Point. Hatley, the 42nd person to be honored, was unanimously chosen by the award’s selection committee. With a Kings Point alumni base of over 16,000 graduates, this selection placed Hatley in the top 1% of graduates to be bestowed this honor.
With over 30 years of marine expertise, Hatley has held important positions that have involved project management of domestic and overseas vessel construction, ship design and operation, and business development.  He was a 1976 graduate of the USMMA, Kings Point Dual License Double Major Program.  Hatley then began the Master’s Program at the University of Michigan in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering after he was presented with the Society of Naval Architects Graduate Student Scholarship.  There he spent time as an engineering officer on both tankers and container ships.  In 1980, upon completing his masters at UM, Hatley did consulting for a multi-ship construction program and during this time became a Licensed Professional Engineer in Naval Architecture and Marine Engineering.  In 2002, Hatley graduated with an Executive MBA from the University of Washington. Hatley joined Wärtsilä North America in 2005 and heads the Ship Power organization for the Americas.
