VT Halter Marine Offers to Partner With OSHA to Improve Shipyard Safety
PASCAGOULA, Miss., May 20 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — VT Halter Marine Inc. (VT Halter Marine), a subsidiary of VT Systems Inc. (VT Systems), commented today on the OSHA citations and fines resulting from OSHA’s investigation of two fatalities and two injuries occurring at the VT Halter Marine (VTHM) Moss Point facility in November of 2009.
“We deeply regret this tragic accident,” said Bill Skinner, CEO of VTHM. “The safety of our people is the core value our entire company is built upon,” he said.
“We’ve been a major employer and an active, contributing member of this community for over forty years,” Skinner said.
“Up until now, we never had a fatal accident. But, even one accident is one too many. That’s why we are doing everything in our power to set the standard for safety in our industry,” he said.
After the accident on November 20, 2009, VTHM representatives fully cooperated with OSHA while they conducted an onsite safety investigation at the Moss Point Marine facility. VTHM gave OSHA full access to employees for questions and interviews. Concerns expressed by OSHA officials during that on-site visit were carefully noted by VTHM representatives. Many concerns were corrected on the spot. All concerns by OSHA have been addressed.
“Our cooperation with OSHA during their investigation and the speed at which we addressed their concerns demonstrates our commitment to providing a safe and healthy work site for the people who work here,” Skinner said. “In December, we conducted a day-long safety stand down to provide safety refresher training to all our employees. We continue mandatory safety refresher courses on an on-going basis,” he said.
VTHM has hired a top maritime industry consultant to review and where necessary update safety policies, procedures, and training.
“We would hope to have the opportunity to partner with OSHA to develop best practices for not only safer paint preparation procedures but also other safety and health areas within our industry,” Skinner said.
VT Halter Marine, the marine operations of VT Systems, is based in Pascagoula, Mississippi and is a leader in the design and construction of medium-sized ships in the United States. VT Halter Marine designs, builds and repairs a wide variety of ocean-going vessels such as patrol vessels, oil recovery vessels, oil cargo vessels, ferries, logistic support vessels and survey vessels. Please visit www.vthaltermarine.com.
VT Systems is a diversified company providing solutions to the commercial and government markets in the aerospace, electronics, land systems and marine sectors. VT Systems products and services include aircraft inspection, maintenance and modification; software solutions in training and simulation; satellite- based IP communications technology; network solutions that integrate data, voice and video; rugged computers and computer peripheral equipment; specialized truck bodies and trailers; weapons and munitions systems; road construction equipment; and shipbuilding. Headquartered in Alexandria, Va., VT Systems operates globally and is a wholly owned subsidiary of ST Engineering. Please visit www.vt-systems.com.
SOURCE VT Halter Marine