The SIU and its affiliated Paul Hall Center for Maritime Training and Education (PHC) played noteworthy roles in this year’s National Maritime Day ceremony at U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) headquarters in the nation’s capital.
SIU President David Heindel was a featured speaker at the May 22 gathering; PHC Apprentice Eliot Randall carried a ceremonial wreath, while fellow Apprentice Luis Sanchez rang the traditional “eight bells.”
The union and the PHC had a typically strong turnout. In addition to the aforementioned individuals, attendees among the crowd of 200 or so included SIU Executive Vice President Augie Tellez, Secretary-Treasurer Tom Orzechowski, Assistant Vice President Pat Vandegrift, Political Director Brian Schoeneman, Trainee Commandant John Romer, and 21 other apprentices.
The theme for this year’s event was “Navigating the Future: Safety First!” The featured speakers, in order of appearance, were Deputy Maritime Administrator Tamekia Flack; Maritime Administrator Ann Phillips; DOT Secretary Pete Buttigieg (via a recorded video); Heindel; Gen. Jacqueline Van Ovost, commanding officer of the U.S. Transportation Command; U.S. Navy Secretary Carlos Del Toro; and U.S. Sen. Mark Kelly (D-Arizona). All of the speakers emphasized the critical importance of the U.S. Merchant Marine to America’s national, economic and homeland security.
Near the end of the ceremony, World War II mariner Allen Johnson, who first shipped out at age 17, received several awards and medals for his service. He briefly addressed the crowd and also offered some remarks in a recently recorded video.
During Heindel’s remarks, the SIU president thanked the administration, Congress, and military leaders for backing the U.S. maritime industry.
Focusing on the theme, he stated, “Safety is always and must remain ‘Job 1,’ and for the SIU that starts in Piney Point and at every one of our hiring halls, and continues through to every voyage and every shipboard safety drill, and is reinforced when a Seafarer returns to upgrade his or her rating or license. We also have our sights set on new fuels and new technology that are on the horizon and which promise to bring changes to shipboard life. We are actively working with the United Nations bodies as well as others to help ensure that shipping’s response to the climate emergency puts mariners and communities at the heart of the solution, always with an emphasis on safety training, handling and operations.”
He later said that “we in the SIU are ever-mindful” of the sacrifices of World War II mariners (including the more than 1,230 SIU members who lost their lives in the war effort), and that he sees a passion in today’s rank-and-file membership when it comes to upholding their role as part of America’s fourth arm of defense.
“They know that in times of crisis, our troops depend on them to deliver the material needed,” Heindel said. “They will not let anything stop them from fulfilling that most-critical mission.”
He concluded, “The U.S. Merchant Marine has been a key part of this nation since America’s earliest days. And in all the years since then, one thing hasn’t changed and never will: Give us the ships, give us the cargo, and we’ll deliver.”
Immediately before the ceremony, attendees watched the PHC’s new recruiting video (available HERE), shown on the in-house monitors.
The event also included salutes to the late SIU President Michael Sacco, who passed away late last year.
A video of the entire ceremony is available on the DOT YouTube channel HERE.
Photos are available on the SIU’s Facebook page HERE.
Extensive coverage of the ceremony (and of other National Maritime Day events that are taking place across the country) will be featured in the July issue of the Seafarers LOG.
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