Shipbuilders Council Announces 2022 Shipyard Safety Awards

The Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA), the national association representing the U.S. shipyard industry, today announced the 2022 Annual Shipyard Safety Awards. SCA recognized a total of 15 U.S. shipyards and repair facilities with seven recipients receiving multiple awards.

SCA honors shipbuilding and repair organizations with the “Excellence in Safety” Award and “Improvement in Safety” Award each year for enhancement of operations and promotion of safety and accident prevention. The “Significance in Safety Achievement” Award is dedicated to shipyards that have had 0 fatalities and a total recordable incident rate (TRIR) under 1.0.

Over the past several years, the industry has seen the total recordable incident rate steadily decline. Safety professionals in the industry are continuing to implement new safety policies. The culture of safety and putting employees at the forefront of their focus has meant the industry has been able to adapt to various challenges that arose in 2021 while protecting all involved and keeping regular operations up to speed.

“American shipyards are dedicated to not only achieving the highest safety standards of any heavy manufacturing industry but are also leading in advancing safety practices,” said SCA President Matthew Paxton. “We salute each of the 15 shipyards and repair facilities being recognized this year for their continuous dedication to the health and safety of this critical workforce.”

SCA member companies are eligible for a Safety Award if they submit the SCA Injury & Illness survey for all four quarters, have zero fatalities throughout the year and either have a total recordable incident rate (TRIR) below the SCA average or if they reduce their year-on-year TRIR by 10 percent or more.

The following shipyards and repair facilities were recognized for their safety practices this year:

Receiving the “Significance in Safety Achievement” Award:
•Alabama Shipyard (Mobile, Ala.)
•Bollinger Shipyards (Lockport, La.)
•Southwest Shipyard, L.P. (Channelview, Texas)
•Vigor Hawaii (Honolulu, Hawaii)

Receiving the “Excellence in Safety” Award:
•Alabama Shipyard (Mobile, Ala.)
•Bollinger Shipyards (Lockport, La.)
•Conrad Shipyard (Morgan City, La.)
•Fincantieri Marinette Marine (Manitowoc, Wis.)
•Metal Shark Boats (Jeanerette, La.)
•MHI Ship Repair & Services (Norfolk, Va.)
•North Atlantic Ship Repair, LLC (Boston, Mass.)
•Philly Shipyard, Inc. (Philadelphia, Pa.)
•Southwest Shipyard, L.P. (Channelview, Texas)
•Vigor Alaska (Ketchikan, Alaska)
•Vigor Hawaii (Honolulu, Hawaii)
•Vigor Portland (Portland, Ore.)
•Vigor Vancouver (Vancouver, Wash.)

Receiving the “Improvement in Safety” Award:
•Bollinger Shipyards (Lockport, La.)
•Conrad Shipyard (Morgan City, La.)
•Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (Sturgeon Bay, Wis.)
•Fincantieri Marinette Marine (Manitowoc, Wis.)
•MHI Ship Repair & Services (Norfolk, Va.)
•Philadelphia Ship Repair (Philadelphia, Pa.)
•Southwest Shipyard, L.P. (Channelview, Texas)

“While Bollinger Shipyards is always proud to be recognized as an industry leader in workplace safety amongst our peers, this year’s award is especially meaningful after everything our employees experienced in 2021,” said Ben Bordelon, Bollinger President and CEO. “Despite the challenges presented by the ongoing global pandemic and the devastating loss following Hurricane Ida, the men and women of Bollinger maintained their commitment to upholding the highest level of safety in our industry – the Bollinger Standard. I want to commend the resilience and dedication of our employees who continued to work safely and efficiently to deliver high quality vessels for our customers on schedule and on budget.”

“Safety has always been a Core Value at Conrad, and we make a steadfast commitment every day to ourselves, employees, and our customers. We are honored for the award recognition. I am very proud of our employees for their dedication,” said Johnny Conrad, Chairman and CEO of Conrad Shipyard.

“I am so proud of the men and women of Fincantieri Marinette Marine for earning this award,” said Mark Vandroff, CEO of Fincantieri Marinette Marine. “The safety of our employees, suppliers, and customers is our highest priority, and this recognition is a testament to that priority.”

Across the bay from Marinette, the leader of Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding, Craig Perciavalle, echoed Vandroff’s sentiment. “We maintain a focus on safety, and when we do it right, awards such as this reinforce our collective efforts.”