Recruiters stress creativity in landing new mariners News Bitts

Safe Boats now 100% employee owned

Safe Boats International LLC, Bremerton, Wash., has transferred 100% of the company’s ownership to its employees. The Safe Boats International Employee Stock Ownership Plan officially acquired the company March 31, completing the final milestone in a process that started in late 2022. Safe Boats has experienced dramatic growth since it was founded in 1996 and now has more than 250 employees in two locations, company officials said.

WorkBoat Show advisory board announced

Recruiters for two tug and barge companies discussed how they are dealing with the stubborn labor shortage at a recent workforce forum organized by the American Waterways Operators.

Christa White of Ingram Marine Group, and Rich Evans at McAllister Towing, said that their companies have gotten creative in nding new ways to reach job seekers via social media, job fairs, advertising, and school visits. They have had mariners speak with potential recruits and share on-the-water experiences, beefed up training programs for new hires, and revamped application processes to make it easy for the digitalsavvy generation to submit job applications.

Ingram has also hosted students at its facilities in Paducah, Ky., to learn rsthand about jobs in welding and repairs and tour a towboat. “We hosted a high school event, invited them outside of school,” White said. “It was a small group, but they really wanted to be there.”

Evans said McAllister uses LinkedIn to advertise jobs and has a public relations person who takes care of the job postings on different platforms, including Instagram and Facebook.

White said Ingram has successfully used a speci c geographic strategy: develop the network you already have in the “sleepy towns without big job opportunities,” where people are already familiar with jobs on the river and where mariners already live and can speak directly about their jobs. White said Ingram can recruit locally in 17 states.

She also said Ingram often relies on its own mariners to spread the word about job openings on social media and by word of mouth. Sometimes mariners are asked to join the recruiting team at job fairs, school visits, and on candidate interviews.

Evans said McAllister employs a similar strategy but also recruits at maritime academies and has had success at job fairs for military veterans. “When we go to Kings Point (U.S. Merchant Marine Academy), we try to take a recent graduate with us, someone who is a year or two out of graduation” and works at McAllister. He said career placement staffs at maritime schools are also excellent resources. —

Pamela Glass

The

International WorkBoat Show (IWBS) has announced the formation of an advisory board made up of eight commercial marine industry leaders. Joey D’Isernia, CEO and chairman, Eastern Shipbuilding Group Inc.; Joe Hudspeth, director business development and global marine, BAE Systems; Bronson Lamb, marketing manager, All American Marine; Troy Matherne, vice president, energy and transportation division, Louisiana Cat; Kelsey Nemeth, marketing manager, Marine Jet Power; Rick Schwab, senior director, workforce development, Delgado Maritime; Aaron Smith, president and CEO, Offshore Marine Service Association (OMSA); Robert Socha, vice president marketing and sales, Conrad Shipyard; and Mark Wright, vice president, southern region, The American Waterways Operators

Gulf lease sale attracts $264 million in high bids

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) held Gulf of Mexico Lease Sale 259 at the end of March, which generated approximately $264 million in high bids for 313 tracts covering 1.6 million acres in federal waters of the U.S. Gulf.

Thirty-two companies participated in the lease sale, submitting $310 million in total bids. The lease sale was required by the Inflation Reduction Act of 2022 (IRA).