American Salvage Association elects new leadership team

New ASA President is Jim Elliott of T&T Salvage.

JANUARY 30, 2018 — The American Salvage Association (ASA) has a newly constituted Executive Committee and Leadership Committee following bi-annual elections held in conjunction with its November 2017 Annual General Meeting (AGM) in New Orleans.

The mission of the American Salvage Association is to be a unifying association of the commercial marine salvage industry, serving as the definitive spokesman for this industry in Washington, D.C. and elsewhere in North, Central and South America as well as the Caribbean Sea. 

Lindsay Malen-Habib of Resolve Marine Group was elected as the new Secretary Treasurer and the first female ever on the ASA’s Leadership Committee.

Lindsay Malen-Habib

“It has been a privilege to be part of the ASA during my career in salvage, and now as part of the leadership committee I vow to dedicate myself to the ASA’s growth, while managing to keep our costs down and continuing to increase our exposure on a global level,” said Malen-Habib.

David DeVilbiss, Global Diving and Salvage, was elected Vice President he will support the organization’s goals and its new President, Jim Elliott of T&T Salvage.

David DeVilbiss

“I look forward to working closely with the salvage industry and stakeholders in supporting the mission of the ASA,” said DeVilbiss. “The recent increase in association membership and various responses throughout the Americas has highlighted the true depth of services offered by our members. Whether it be protecting assets at sea, keeping navigable waterways open, or protecting the environment from pollution, our organizations’ members have much to offer.”

“As the new President of the American Salvage Association, it is a great honor to represent the men and women of the marine salvage industry,” said Elliott. “In the past few months, the salvage industry has demonstrated its incredible capacity, capabilities and resilience, simultaneously salvaging hundreds of ships, barges and boats in multiple locations following three hurricane landfalls, all while continuing to effectively meet the U.S. regulatory standards for salvage and marine firefighting.”

ASA says its November AGM was its most successful meetingwith attendees from around the world and a large representation of members from North, Central, and South America, as well as the Caribbean.

“Interest in the activities and work of the American Salvage Association has grown significantly since the mission of the ASA was expanded to include the entire Western Hemisphere,” said ASA Executive Director Dick Fredricks. “Proof of this can be seen in the increase in attendance at the ASA’s annual meetings – more than double the number of government and industry attendees in just two years.”

The ASA’s largest networking meeting consisted of panels featuring regulators and industry discussing topics that included how industry and regulators came together to respond to a record breaking hurricane season.

RADM Paul Thomas and Captain Joe Loring of the U.S, Coast Guard praised the salvage industry for its historic response to hurricanes in Texas, Florida and the Caribbean territories, quickly opening critical ports and waterways while minimizing environmental impacts.

Captain Loring also noted that the salvage industry had successfully passed every verification audit since the Coast Guard began reviewing salvage and marine firefighting service providers in 2010.

Future challenges for the salvage industry were also discussed in a panel highlighting LNG Salvage and Large Ship Salvage.

The ASA’s working committees highlighted their past year from the ASA’s conjointly held Science Fair with partner and member NAMEPA, to newly formed committees such as the Salvage Diving Committee and Latin American Committee.