Paul Hankins News

The American Salvage Association (ASA) has elected a new slate of officers at its fall meeting on September 21 in Stamford, Conn. Todd Schauer, Resolve Marine Group was elected President, succeeding Paul Hankins, Donjon Marine Co., Inc., who served as President from 2013-2015. Jim Elliott, T&T Marine Salvage, Inc., was elected Vice President, and David DeVilbiss, Global Diving & Salvage, Inc., was named Secretary/Treasurer. In addition, James Calhoun (T&T Salvage, Inc.), Samina Mahmood (Ardent)…

Last month Maritime Reporter had the good fortune to receive insights from a trio of maritime salvage leaders – Paul Hankins, Tim Beaver & Jim Elliott – garnering insights on one of the most challenging and ever-changing sectors of the maritime market. It was recently written “salvors have become more closely tied to Oil Spill Response Organizations (OSROs).” Why? Hankins The Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA90) defines how all stakeholders will respond to potential or actual oil spill responses.

The American Salvage Association has revised its mission statement to increase its area of influence beyond North America, complemented by a new logo that reflects the expanded direction. The new Mission Statement reads “The mission of the ASA is to be a unifying association of the commercial marine salvage industry, serving as the definitive spokesman for this industry in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere in North, Central and South America as well as the Caribbean Sea.” The updated logo keeps the same ocean blue and white color scheme of the previous one…

Though maritime transportation is unequivocally proven as the safest and most environmentally benign means to move goods from ‘point A to point B,’ it is a given that accidents do happen. When they do, having a qualified, competent marine salvage company around can be the difference between minor incident and major tragedy. For insights on the maturation and future of marine salvage sector, MR reached out to the leadership of the American Salvage Association (ASA) for answers. What are the major missions, objectives and challenges ASA has on its top line agenda today.

In a special program in Manhattan on May 6, the Working Harbor Committee presents a timely, educational and entertaining program that answers the question: What happens to a ship after it sinks? Unfortunately, some ships come to grief. Witness the tragic sinking of the South Korean ferry Sewol on April 16, or the doomed cruise ship Costa Concordia that ended up on the rocks off Giglio, Italy in 2012. When there is trouble on the water the marine salvage industry arrives with divers…

This month’s editorial calendar has, in part, as its focus, oil pollution, prevention and response. Or, in other words, missions and matters that cut to the very heart of the American Salvage Association (ASA) and the goals of its considerable membership. This month, ASA President Paul Hankins weighs in on a host of issues that impact the rapidly evolving world of salvage, the players that make up that sector of the marine industry, and why all of that is important. Mr. Hankins…

Paul Hankins, Vice President for Salvage Operations at Donjon Marine Co., Inc., was elected President, succeeding Tim Beaver, Global Diving & Salvage, Inc., who served as President from 2011-2013. Jim Elliott, T&T Marine Salvage, Inc., was named Secretary/Treasurer. Paul Hankins has over 30 years’ experience in the marine industry after graduating from the U.S. Naval Academy in 1981 with a Bachelors of Science in Naval Architecture and from George Washington University in 1991 with a Master’s degree in Environmental Management.

In the choppy wake of regulatory changes, subtle changes in how, where and why salvors do business, high profile salvage assignments and still more lurking on the horizon, the American salvage community has a lot to say. This month, MarineNews brought together three industry heavyweights to find out what was on their minds. Collectively, they combine to recalibrate the perception of what a salvor should be, where the industry will evolve, and why. The role of the marine salvor is to respond to a casualty – whether a fire, grounding, sinking, structural failure or even the threat of any of these disasters – and to provide speedy and effective solutions. Marine casualty response, commonly called Salvage, is an interesting but little understood world.

Donjon Marine said that Paul Hankins, formerly President of Donjon-SMIT, LLC, has joined Donjon as Vice President of Operations-Salvage & Engineering Division. Hankins’ primary duties will involve Donjon’s U.S. Navy Salvage Services Contract, as well as its U.S. Coast Guard Basic Ordering Agreement (BOA). “Donjon is pleased to welcome Paul to the Donjon team and we look forward to his expertise and management experience to help bolster our marine salvage activities,” said John A. Witte, Jr., Executive Vice President, Donjon Marine Co., Inc. A native of Washington, DC, Mr.

Tim Beaver, Chief Executive Officer of Global Diving & Salvage, Inc., has been elected President of the American Salvage Association at its recent meeting in Arlington, VA, October 5, 2011. Beaver succeeds Mauricio Garrido, who served as President from 2009-2011. Paul Hankins, Donjon-SMIT, LLC, has been elected Vice President. Todd Schauer, Resolve Marine Group, has been named Secretary/Treasurer.“This new leadership team will serve to energize the ASA’s approach to the diverse fronts tackled by the ASA,” said Beaver.

On June 13, 2011, Donjon-SMIT, LLC, was notified that a client vessel was aground in the Mississippi River just above Cubit’s Gap, about 10 miles below Venice, Louisiana. Traffic on the Mississippi was not impeded by the grounded vessel. Donjon-SMIT, an OPA-90 salvage and marine firefighting provider, was placed on standby pending the results of efforts to refloat the vessel with tugs. Approximately midday on June 14, the vessel’s salvage response plan was activated, and Donjon-SMIT mobilized its personnel and assets to refloat the vessel. Within a few hours of the activation of the salvage plan, one of Donjon-SMIT’s Rapid Response Assessors was on scene to conduct the initial onsite salvage assessment.

Donjon-SMIT, an OPA-90 Alliance, has named Paul Hankins as President. He formerly served as Donjon-SMIT’s Vice President of Operations and has been with the organization since 2005. Hankins has more than 30 years of management and supervisory experience in the federal government and private industry, including more than 18 years in emergency response and marine salvage operations management. Prior to joining Donjon-SMIT, Hankins was Deputy Assistant Administrator for Maritime and Land Security for the Transportation Security Administration (TSA)…

Donjon-SMIT, an OPA-90 Alliance, has moved its principle office to 909 North Washington Street, Suite 300, Alexandria, Virginia  22314 USA. The relocation to larger facilities was effected in order to support additional staff required to meet the new U.S. Coast Guard Salvage and Marine Firefighting regulations. All phone numbers, including the emergency number, remain the same. The main office number and 24/7 emergency number is 1-703-299-0081. The fax number is 1-703-299-0085. The e-mail address is [email protected]. Paul Hankins, Vice President for Operations, is Donjon-SMIT’s office director. Donjon-SMIT was created December 31, 2004 by marine salvage and casualty response companies Donjon Marine Co., Inc. (Hillside, NJ) and SMIT Salvage Americas (Houston, TX).

Donjon-SMIT, LLC, an OPA-90 Alliance, has received unconditional approval from the U.S. Coast Guard for its Salvage, Marine Firefighting and Lightering Contract and Funding Agreement. The Coast Guard’s full acceptance of the contract means that Donjon-SMIT, LLC now has the required approvals for a mechanism to contract with vessel owners needing salvage and marine response services required under OPA-90, and stipulated in the Salvage and Marine Firefighting Requirements; Vessel Response Plans for Oil; Final Rule dated December 31, 2008. The contract fully meets the Coast Guard’s 33 Code of Federal Regulations 155.4025 definition of “contract or other approved means,” including the “funding agreement” component of that definition.

Mauricio Garrido, Vice President, Salvage and Emergency Response for Bisso Marine Co., Inc. (Houston, Texas), has been elected President of the American Salvage Association (ASA) at its recent meeting in Arlington, Va., October 5, 2009. Tim Beaver, Chief Executive Officer of Global Diving & Salvage, Inc. (Seattle, WA), has been elected ASA’s Vice President. Paul Hankins, Vice President for Operations, Donjon Marine (Alexandria, VA), has been elected Secretary/Treasurer. In addition, David Devilbiss, Alaska Regional Manager for Global Diving & Salvage; Dan Schwall, Managing Director for Titan Salvage; Bob Umbdenstock, Vice President for Client Services for Resolve Marine Group…

John A. Witte, Jr., Executive Vice President of Donjon Marine Co., Inc. (Hillside, NJ) has been elected President of the American Salvage Association (ASA). Mauricio Garrido, Managing Director of Salvage for the Americas for Titan, a Crowley Company, (Fort Lauderdale, FL) has been elected ASA’s Vice President, and Tim Beaver, President of Global Diving & Salvage, Inc. (Seattle, WA) has been elected Secretary/Treasurer. In addition, James Calhoun, Senior Vice President, Bisso Marine Co., Inc. (Houston, TX); Paul Hankins, Vice President for Operations, Donjon-SMIT, LLC (Alexandria, VA); Charles Usher, President, Marine Pollution Control (Detroit, MI); and Ken Edgar, Marine Response Consultant (Houston, TX) were elected to ASA’s Executive Committee.

Mauricio Garrido, Titan Salvage's director of business development, was recently elected vice president of The American Salvage Association (ASA). He joins John A. Witte, Jr., executive vice president of Donjon Marine Co., Inc. (Hillside, NJ) who was elected president, and Tim Beaver, president of Global Diving & Salvage, Inc. (Seattle, Wash.) who was elected secretary/treasurer. Garrido will continue to help the ASA meet its objectives which include bringing closure to pending U.S. maritime salvage regulations, facilitating the quality partnership agreement between ASA and the U.S. Coast Guard, and addressing responder immunity as well as the salvor's role in environmental protection and maritime security.