Robert M Cusick News

Captain Robert M. Cusick Jr., a merchant marine officer who survived the wreck of the SS Marine Electric and then helped lead a major reform of US maritime safety standards, died peacefully in his sleep in New Hampshire on Thursday, September 12, 2013, according to Carol Cusick, his daughter. He was 90 years old. Against the advice of many friends and colleagues, Captain Cusick testified at a US Marine Board of Investigation and detailed how inspectors and company officials overlooked numerous holes in the hatches…

"Until the Sea Shall Free Them," an account of the sinking of the SS Marine Electric in 1983 and the rescue of some of its crew, is back in print after Blue Jacket press and the Naval Institute rolled press on a second printing. The book, used by maritime academies and USCG safety instructors, tells the story of how more than 30 men went into the cold waters off Virginia and how only three came back. The three men, lead by Captain Robert M. Cusick, then battled against great odds to reform the industry. They eventually succeeded with the help of Coast Guard Captain Domenic A. Calicchio.