JULY 22, 2013—The 2013 National Maritime Salvage Conference, sponsored by the American Salvage Association (ASA) and MARINE LOG will take place September 9-12, 2013 at the Key Bridge Marriott Hotel in Arlington,VA.

ASA President Tim Beaver

This biennial executive event 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.

One timely topic on the conference agenda will be U.S. Government restrictions on international salvage response operations due to trade and economic sanctions against targeted foreign countries enforced by the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the U.S. Department of the Treasury. David Brummond, OFAC Senior Sanctions Advisor – Insurance, will discuss this issue in an interactive session and take questions from conference attendees on what these restrictions mean for the salvage industry. 

ASA President Tim Beaver commented, “This is an important event for the maritime salvage community, where issues of major concern to the industry—both domestic and international—will be discussed.  It’s an opportunity to interact and share information with colleagues, competitors, and government officials who oversee the industry.”  

Congressman Duncan Hunter, Chairman of the House Subcommittee on the Coast Guard and Marine Transportation, is invited to deliver the opening keynote address.  Other speakers will include Rob Grool, Seaspan Shipmanagement LTD; Jon Waldron, Blank Rome; LCDR Brian Moore, USCG; and Lisa Symons, NOAA, among others.

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) 620-7209, jpoterala@sbpub.com