DAy 1 - Tuesday, March 24
(Onsite and included in registration price.)
Start the conference off with a hosted breakfast as you check in and meet fellow attendees. This opening networking window offers an excellent opportunity to connect with maritime professionals from across the country, explore exhibitor displays, and settle into the venue before the program begins.
We recommend you arrive as early as possible during this time period to ensure you are able to check in, get breakfast, find a seat for the day, and have time to meet fellow attendees.
Proudly sponsored by: Western States Petroleum Association
- Welcome Remarks and Introduction of Keynote Speaker: PATRICK GALLAGHER, Chair Puget Sound Harbor Safety Committee and Executive Director of the Marine Exchange of Puget Sound
- Keynote remarks and presentation of the Distinguished Harbor Safety Committee Award: ADM THOMAS G. ALLAN JR., Acting Vice Commandant of the U.S. Coast Guard
- Keynote remarks: SENATOR MARIA CANTWELL (video address)
This session will provide a high-level scene-setter through federal perspectives on the most pressing challenges within the Marine Transportation System. Speakers will share individual agency perspectives, as well as highlight work they are doing collaboratively as part of the U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System. Anticipate discussion of Administration priorities (e.g., relevant Executive Orders) as well as things local port communities can do to help address the nation’s most pressing challenges.
Panel Moderator: ASHLEY CHAPPELL, Executive Director U.S. Committee on the Marine Transportation System
Panelists:
- REAR ADMIRAL WAYNE R. ARGUIN JR., Assistant Commandant for Prevention Policy, U.S. Coast Guard
- STEPHEN L. HILL, Director of Operations and Regulatory Programs, U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
- NICOLE R. LEBOEUF, Assistant Administrator, National Ocean Service, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
Speaker: CLAUDIA BEUMER, Membership and Communications Manager, SGMF
The International Maritime Organization (IMO)’s goal of reducing emissions from vessels has ship owners and operators looking to alternative fuels to fuel their fleets, and each type of alternative fuel presents its own unique risks and challenges to understand, mitigate, and manage. This session will provide information on the risks associated with different alternative fuel types (e.g., liquified natural gas, methanol, ammonia, hydrogen, nuclear, and lithium-ion batteries) and insight into how companies think about these issues when making decisions for their vessels and/or fleets.
(Onsite and included in registration price.)
Proudly sponsored by: Maritime Fire & Safety Association
This session will provide a national-level overview and highlight local initiatives implemented to improve the response to shipboard fires. The U.S. Coast Guard’s Office of Marine Environmental Response Policy will provide a briefing on the efforts of the Salvage and Marine Firefighting Task Force and other initiatives underway to support prevention and planning. This will be followed by a panel discussion to share the efforts of several port communities that have taken action to improve shipboard fire preparedness.
- USCG Representative: CAPT KIRSTEN TREGO (USCGR, ret.), Acting Chief, Office of Marine Environmental Response, U.S. Coast Guard
- Panel Moderator: DAN SMILEY, Executive Director, Washington State Maritime Cooperative; Participant, Puget Sound Harbor Safety Committee
Panelists:
Senior Director, Maritime Incident Response Team and Business Continuity, Port of Virginia; Member, Virginia Harbor Safety Committee
Executive Director, Maritime Fire and Safety Association; Executive Director, Merchants Exchange of Portland; and Member, Lower Columbia Region Harbor Safety Committee
Chief Operating Officer, T&T Group of Companies; Past President, American Salvage Association; Vice Chair, Lone Star Harbor Safety Committee
Operations Manager, North Bay Operations – Maintenance Facilities, Blue & Gold Fleet; Chair, Ferry Operations Subcommittee, Harbor Safety Committee of the San Francisco Bay Region
Lieutenant, Seattle Fire Department; Participant, Puget Sound Harbor Safety Committee
This session will focus on key management and administrative topics (e.g., membership, recruitment, and funding) local Harbor Safety Committees have identified as challenges. Following a short briefing to provide an overview of challenges and approaches at the nation level, this session will include a panel discussion featuring representatives from local Harbor Safety Committees that can share specific strategies and tactics that have worked for them.
Panel Moderator: NOEL JONES, Harbor Safety Committee Program Manager, U.S. Coast Guard
Panelists:
PATRICK GALLAGHER
Executive Director, Marine Exchange of Puget Sound; Chair, Puget Sound Harbor Safety Committee
CAPT. PAUL MEHLER (USCG, ret.)
Senior Port Captain – Alaska, Marathon Petroleum; Chair, Cook Inlet Harbor Safety Committee
CHRISTINE TITUS
Port Operations, Louisiana Maritime Association; Treasurer, Greater New Orleans Port Safety Council Harbor Safety Committee
SCOTT WHITE
CEO, Montserrat Maritime, LLC; President, Massachusetts Bay Harbor Safety Committee
(Onsite and included in registration price.)
Proudly sponsored by: Wärtsilä

