The Shipbuilders Council of America (SCA), the national association representing the U.S. shipbuilding, maintenance, and repair industry, announced the recipients of its annual shipyard safety awards.
SCA honors shipbuilding and repair organizations with the “Excellence in Safety”, “Improvement in Safety”, and “Significant Safety Achievement” awards each year for enhancement of operations and promotion of safety and accident prevention.
SCA awarded nine U.S. shipyards in total, with BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair and Bollinger Shipyards receiving both the “Excellence in Safety” and “Improvement in Safety” awards. All recipients showed exemplary operations standards and prioritized safety and accident prevention to the highest degree, despite the challenges posed to the industry by Covid-19 throughout 2020.
“U.S. shipyards are dedicated to upholding the highest safety standards and advancing safe practices for our workforce, and as such, were prepared and ready to take on the challenges brought on by Covid-19,” SCA President Matthew Paxton said in a prepared statement. “We commend these yards for not only rising to the occasion to keep our country operating during the pandemic, but also for continuing to prioritize the well-being of this essential 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 total SCA average, or if the facility reduces its year-on-year TRIR by 10% or more.
The following shipyards were recognized for their safety practices this year:
- Receiving both the “Excellence in Safety” and “Improvement in Safety” Awards: BAE Systems Norfolk Ship Repair (Norfolk, Va.) and Bollinger Shipyards (Lockport, La.).
- Receiving the “Excellence in Safety” Award: Austal USA (Mobile, Ala.), BAE Systems Jacksonville Ship Repair (Jacksonville, Fla.), Boston Ship Repair, Division of North Atlantic Ship Repair (Boston), Fincantieri Marinette Marine (Marinette, Wis.), MHI Ship Repair & Services (Hampton Roads, Va.), Southwest Shipyard L.P. (Channelview, Texas).
- Receiving the “Improvement in Safety” Award: Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding (Sturgeon Bay, Wis.),
- Receiving the “Significant Safety Achievement” Award: Southwest Shipyard, L.P. (Channelview, Texas).
