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USNS Grapple wins safety award (9/13)

The U.S. Military Sealift Command has issued the following news release concerning the USNS Grapple, which is crewed by members of the SIU Government Services Division. The release, dated September 11, also is available on MSC’s web site HERE USNS Grapple wins Department of the Navy safety excellence award Rescue and salvage ship USNS Grapple won the 2007 Department of the Navy safety excellence award in the Military Sealift Command category, Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter announced today. The 255-foot ship is currently operating out of Norfolk, Va., and is crewed by civil service mariners and a small military detachment of active-duty Navy sailors. Grapple's crew was recognized for both successfully transitioning the ship from military to civilian operations and safely completing its missions with a substantially smaller crew. "It's difficult taking a Navy ship of 20 years and converting it into civilian mode," said Capt. Curt Smith, Grapple's civil service master. "They had up to 120 crew members and now we're operating on 26." Not only did Grapple pass its first Ship Material Assessment and Readiness Training (SMART) assessment, but the crew has also initiated and hosted on-board safety trainings and developed a shipboard training manual outlining firefighting and lifesaving capabilities and functions of the ship. "The entire crew is a part of our safety program," said Smith. "Safety isn't something with think about a couple of times a month - it's part of our routine." The Department of the Navy safety excellence award program recognizes Navy and Marine Corps teams, ships and installations for exceptional commitment to safety and operational risk management. In the announcement message, Winter extended his personal congratulations to the winners, telling them, "Your achievements serve as visible examples of how increased safety performance directly contributes to improved mission readiness. Thank you for your initiative and ingenuity." The award ceremony will be held in Washington, D.C., in October. Grapple is one of four rescue and salvage ships whose capabilities include rescue and assistance, off-ship fire fighting, recovery of submerged objects, diving and salvage and towing. It was decommissioned and transferred to MSC in 2006. Military Sealift Command operates approximately 110 noncombatant, civilian-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships, chart ocean bottoms, conduct undersea surveillance, strategically preposition combat cargo at sea around the world and move military equipment and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces. ###