Melissa Farris, Cong. Duncan Hunter to Speak at National Maritime Salvage Conference Sept. 9-12

Washington, DC – The American Salvage Association (ASA) and Marine Log are pleased to announce that Melissa Ferris, Washington State Department of Natural Resources Program Manager for the Derelict Vessel Removal Program since 2006, will deliver the luncheon address on September 12 at the National Maritime Salvage Conference. In 2009 the U.S. Coast Guard awarded Ms. Ferris a Meritorious Public Service Award for her commitment to removing hazardous vessels from Washington waters. The conference will be held September 9-12 at the Key Bridge Marriott Hotel in Arlington, Virginia.

A biennial executive event, the National Maritime Salvage Conference focuses on the critical issues of marine salvage, wreck removal and firefighting. The theme of this year’s conference is “Weathering the Storm.” On September 10-11, the conference will include sessions on new regulations for Non-Tank Vessel Response Plans (VRPs); environmental salvage; liability exposure and responder immunity; OFAC restrictions on salvage operations; incident management during salvage operations; effective communications; contracting; the U.S. Coast Guard BOA System; salvage response to natural disasters; and the challenges ahead of megaships, Arctic salvage, personnel and regulations.

On September 12, there will be a session on managing expectations of discrete stakeholders in a salvage response operation, and a tabletop training exercise.

Congressman Duncan Hunter (R-CA) will deliver the keynote address for the conference on September 10 and other notable speakers will include Rob Grool, Seaspan Shipmanagement LTD; Jon Waldron, Blank Rome; LCDR Brian Moore, USCG; and Lisa Symons, NOAA.

To see the complete program, including a list of speakers, and to register online, visit the Events page at www.marinelog.com.

Marketing Opportunities

Organizations interested in enhancing their visibility in the shipping, insurance, and marine casualty response markets should consider becoming a tabletop exhibitor or a sponsor at the National Maritime Salvage Conference & Expo. For more details, contact Jane Poterala at (212) 620-7200 x7209, jpoterala@sbpub.com.