The International Propeller Club of the United States named James L. Henry the Maritime Person of the Year at its international convention last week in Tampa, Fla. Henry is Chairman and President of the Transportation Institute, a leading maritime industry association. Henry is also a founding Board Member of the Maritime Cabotage Task Force, the largest coalition ever to promote America’s Jones Act fleet.
The award, which the Club awards annually, recognizes the awardee’s contributions to the commercial maritime industry in the United States and internationally. Previous awardees have included Art Bayer, a leading figure in the inland industry, and Vice Admiral A.J. Herberger, U.S. Navy (Retired), former Maritime Administrator and Deputy Commander of the U.S. Transportation Command.
In presenting the award, Club President Rolf Marshall spoke of the singular role Henry has played in virtually every major initiative in United States maritime policy since he assumed the presidency of the Institute in 1987 and became its chairman in 1990. He played a particularly key role in protecting the Jones Act when it came under attack in the mid-1990s.
Henry is also Chairman of the National Defense Transportation Association’s Military Sealift Committee and Chairman of the United States Maritime Coalition. In 2005, he was awarded the Vincent T. Hirsh Maritime Award for Outstanding Leadership from the Navy League of the United States. In 2007, Henry was the recipient of the prestigious National Defense Transportation Association National Transportation Award during its Annual Forum in Charleston, S.C.
At the Transportation Institute, Henry has played a leading role in the effort to preserve the U.S. Jones Act fleet and to develop a maritime policy that ensures a viable ocean transportation capability. Most recently, the Institute advocated for the U.S. Jones Act fleet to play a critical role in the BP oil spill clean-up as well as for adequate channel and harbor depth within the Great Lakes.