August 2014 August Communicator Newsletter HMS Ferries Letter from the President Coursen Crew Rescues Salute to a Good Friend Man in Less than Three 2 Minutes This year, HMS Global Maritime will celebrate our twenty-year anniversary. In the past twenty years, much has happened. We have seen projects come and go, HMS Government have ventured into new market segments, have seen big projects like the Hawaii Services Superferry project declare bankruptcy, and have seen the entire casino boat Seaward Services industry go dockside. We have also had a few changes in our senior management Rescues Three Men from team. Greg Brown, one of our close friends and a great contributor to the growth 3 Sinking Boat of HMS Global Maritime, will be departing the company, seeking increased per- sonal growth and financial opportunities within the maritime industry. HMS Overnight Cruises Greg has been working with HMS Global Maritime for over 16 years. In 1998, we American Queen brings hired Greg as one of the first Masters for the Glory of Rome, the largest riverboat baseball legends to casino in the world. Greg served as a Master of this vessel for over four years. 4 theme cruise In 2002, HMS Global Maritime offered Greg a position as a Senior Project Man- ager. Greg’s first assignment was to take the lead as Project Manager for the Safety, Quality, WestPac Express. Greg supervised the transition from the foreign crew that was & Environment operating this vessel to an all U.S. crew. In addition to hiring and training all of the Mooring Safety crew, Greg also established a U.S. Coast Guard approved type rating and exami- 5 nation program for Austal’s 101-Meter High Speed Catamarans and developed a Safety Management System (SMS) for this vessel. John W. Waggoner In addition to the WestPac Express, Greg also helped oversee the Belle of Louis- HR Update President/CEO ville, where he served as a Project Manager and Master. What to Expect After HMS Global Maritime 6 Open Enrollment Being a southern boy, Greg had the perfect temperament to assist HMS Global Maritime in establishing the Mobile Bay and Gees Bend Ferries in Alabama. The Gees Bend Ferry was quite a project, as the vessel was built locally and did not meet many of the U.S. Money Matters Coast Guard regulations. As one U.S. Coast Guard officer told me, “This vessel should be on a TV show. The Social Services The title of the show would be, ‘How to build a boat using farm equipment.’” Greg prevailed, and the Gees Conversation Bend Ferry was christened to much fan-fair and then entered service. 7 LogoMania When we made the determination to purchase the American Queen and enter the overnight cruise industry, Greg was right there. He participated in all the bank meetings, which we affectingly labeled, “Begging for Dollars”. Once we received our funding, it was off to Sulphur, Louisiana to begin the long process of bring- Recipe of the ing the American Queen back to life. Greg has been involved with the success of the American Queen from Month the very beginning. Employee What a decorated career with HMS Global Maritime! Greg, on behalf of the entire company, we wish you all 8 Spotlight the best in your new career. May you always have fair winds and following seas in your journey through life. Tim Loesch Employee Forum Job Postings, New Hires 9 and Transfers HMS Global Maritime www.hmsgm.com -1- Charting Success on a Global Scale HMS FERRY DIVISION Pierce County, WA Corpus Christi, TX Oklahoma City, OK Jacksonville, FL Gees Bend, AL Governors Island, NY Mobile Bay, AL Coursen Crew Rescues Man in Less than Three Minutes CORE VALUE: Safety First HMS Ferries, Inc. crews continually train to the National Park Service. The Coursen has been primarily used for respond to onboard emergencies, but hope transporting construction and redevelopment crews and equipment, they never have to put the training to prac- but has also started transporting passengers to and from the island tice. A recent incident near Governors Island on the weekends during the summer season. This site has become (located south of Manhattan and west of a destination for both tourists and locals and is sure to grow as the Brooklyn in New York City) required the crew redevelopment continues. of the Coursen to call upon their emergency training during an actual man overboard on As Governors Island continues to flourish and draw more visitors to June 22, 2014. the area, safety aboard the Coursen will remain the highest priority, as it is with any of our vessel operations. Our ongoing commitment On a run from Governors Island to Manhat- to safety and reliability will help us foster growth of Governors Island, tan, a passenger jumped overboard from as well as the entire company. This incident has been a great dem- the second deck of the Coursen. Spurred onstration of why safety is of the upmost importance to HMS Ferries by a $100 bet with a fellow passenger, the and throughout the HMS Global Maritime family of companies and man overboard found himself in the middle why we all continually focus on safety and teamwork. of one of the busiest shipping channels in the nation. Another passenger alerted a Great work by the crew of the Coursen and all the men and women nearby crew member and the Coursen crew assigned to Governors Island for continually training to take swift immediately responded as trained. A “man action. Their efforts epitomize our Core Values of Safety First and overboard” call was announced, and the Teamwork and are applauded by all. Greg Dronkert Captain maneuvered the vessel to begin preparations to recover the person in the water. While deploying a rescue boat, the GOVERNORS President & COO Captain hailed a nearby New York Police HMS Ferries, Inc. ISLAND CARDER RD Department marine patrol vessel to assist. Governors Beach SOISSONS LANDING Club To Manhattan CASTLE 114 WILLIAMS 110 140 The police vessel diverted to the scene and 112 111 ANDES RD Flush 109 N Toilet CARDER RD TAMPA RD 108 Brooklyn Battery recovered the overboard passenger. HAY RD Tunnel Vent Shaft 515 107 Pershing Hall 410 Pier 101 FORT JAY Kayak Dock 409 Only three minutes had passed from the time the crew was noti- 555 ANDES RD 25 SHORT AVE 2 Pier 102 COLONELS408 fied to when the man was safely pulled from the water. All of the Harbor School 3 WHEELER AVE ROW 407 HAY RD COMFORT RD 1 safety procedures that the crew had been trained on were executed CLAYTON RD 406 20 4 Liggett Arch 405 19 NOLAN 5 flawlessly and admirably. The overboard passenger can thank his Flush 404 18 Toilet LiGGETT PARADE PARK 6 EVANS RD 17 textbook recovery to the quick, efficient actions of the following TERRACE 403 GROUND 7 BARRY RD 16 8 15 9 HAMMOCK 10 Coursen crew: KIMMEL RD GROVE 14 11 12 St. Cornelius Chapel KING AVE 333 298 OWASCO RD 324 Cliff Clark - Master PLAY 324 SOUTH BATTERY 301 CARTIGAN RD LAWN 315 Bill Roecker - Mate Park in Progress Four new hills rising up Urban to 80 feet above the Harbor: Farm David Sambula - Chief Engineer under construction Karl Bohne - Oiler Closed to public YANKEE PIER Brooklyn Ferry Brandon Burton - Senior Deckhand East River Ferry Barry Masterson - Senior Deckhand Frank Roda - Senior Deckhand Nicholas Merlo – Deckhand Shared streets Pedestrian paths Governors Island is a recently redeveloped tourist recreation area, 0’ 250’ 500’ 750’ 1000’ brought to life by the City of New York’s Trust for Governors Island. The island is 172 acres of land that was previously a military base (Above) A map from the official visitor’s map of Governors Island is shown. At the but now houses public spaces, not-for-profit educational facilities, northern part of the island is Soissons Landing, where the Coursen loads and commercial property and 22 acres reserved for and maintained by unloads passengers. HMS Global Maritime www.hmsgm.com -2- Charting Success on a Global Scale HMS Government Services New Albany, IN Dania Beach, FL Norfolk, VA Philadelphia, PA Newport, RI Panama City Beach, FL Okinawa, Japan Seaward Services Rescues Three Men from Sinking Boat CORE VALUE: Safety First On June 26, 2014, Captain Drew Elliott and Ed Wilkins of Seaward A two-week training, for the rare occurrence Services, Inc., along with other crew aboard a 41-foot U.S. Coast of a rescue such as this one, takes place on a Guard vessel operated by Seaward Services, successfully rescued yearly basis with Seaward Services. While the three men from a sinking vessel. The crew was conducting train- company does not typically perform rescues ing and testing in the Chesapeake Bay Bridge area, near Norfolk, like the U.S. Coast Guard, Captain Elliott, Virginia, when they noticed what appeared to be a half-sunk ship Ed Wilkins, and the other personnel onboard from afar. Another vessel had passed it without stopping, but Captain have proven that they are absolutely capable Elliott decided to alert the rest of the passengers onboard of the situ- to do so, should the need arise. Robert ation and move closer to investigate. Galvez, Norfolk General Manager for Seaward Services, explained that being trained and Upon his arrival, he discovered the ship was a sailboat and was able to perform rescues when needed is part almost completely sunk. Only the bow and part of the port side was of their maritime responsibility. This inci- out of the water by the time they arrived.