The Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA) announced its 2022 Annual Shipyard Safety Awards yesterday. SCA recognized 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 zero 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 as safety professionals continue 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,” SCA President Matthew Paxton said in a statement. “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% 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)
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)
Philly Shipyard Inc. (Philadelphia)
Southwest Shipyard L.P. (Channelview, Texas)
Vigor Alaska (Ketchikan, Alaska)
Vigor Hawaii (Honolulu)
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)
Southwest Shipyard L.P. (Channelview, Texas)
Bollinger received the SCA's Excellence in Safety award for the 17th consecutive year. This year, Bollinger also earned awards for Significant Safety Achievement and Improvement in Safety.
SCA, the national association for the shipyard industry, presented the award to Bollinger’s President and CEO Ben Bordelon at its annual meeting in Washington, D.C. in recognition of the company’s record of safety, enhancement of operations and promotion of safety and accident prevention over the past year.
The award is notable as 2021 presented a number of acute challenges, including the global Covid-19 pandemic and an historic storm season. A number of Bollinger facilities experienced significant damage as a result of Hurricane Ida, which made landfall in August 2021 near Port Fourchon, La., as a powerful Category 4 storm — the strongest storm on record to make landfall in the state. Employee safety remained a top priority throughout the rebuilding and recovery process.
“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 Bordelon. “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.”
