88 Crowley Vessels Awarded for Safety

Eighty-eight Crowley Maritime Corporation vessels received the Chamber of Shipping of America’s (CSA) annual Jones F. Devlin Award in recognition of their safety records, during a luncheon held last week in New Orleans, La. Each year, the CSA honors 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 2014 Devlin Award-worthy vessels together have achieved an impressive total of 565 years of service without an LTI. Of the 88 awarded, 18 have gone without incident for 10 or more consecutive years. Of those, 11 have gone without incident for more than 15 years and one, Valdez Star, hasn’t had an incident in 24 years. Crowley’s vessels have earned Devlin Awards annually since 2005. CSA established the Jones F. Devlin Award in 1958. In the first year, 27 vessels received awards; last year, more than 1,500 vessels received awards. More than 18,000 awards have been made since the program began.

Accepting all of the awards on behalf of Crowley were Mike Golonka, vice president, ship management; Capt. Andrew Smith; Capt. Bob Cates; and Dale Wilson, manager marine operations, petroleum services.

“Safety continues to be a primary focus for us at Crowley – whether shoreside or aboard one of our vessels – we believe that safety begins and ends with our employees. The vessels recognized today are proof that together, we can reach our goal of zero – zero harm to people, property and the environment,” said Golonka.

The 2014 Safety Achievement Awards Luncheon marks the 57th year that the CSA has granted the Jones F. Devlin Awards. The CSA represents 34 U.S.-based companies that own, operate or charter oceangoing tankers, container ships and other merchant vessels engaged in both the domestic and international trades and other entities that maintain a commercial interest in the operation of such oceangoing vessels.