Page 27: of Marine Technology Magazine (January 2011)

www.seadiscovery.com Marine Technology Reporter 27

What is your background?

I graduated from the University of Washington and went straight to work for Global. I do not have a diving background, so when I started in 1995, I worked on the marine environmental side of the house, although the company was much smaller than it is today, and everyone relied on each other for help across the company service lines. I got the opportunity to tend on projects, and developed an appreciation for the work our divers per- formed. I eventually began to manage projects, and even- tually was promoted to the Environmental Division

Manager, and then to General Manager. When the two principals took a step back from the day to day activities of the company, I was promoted to President at the end of 2008.

How did you come to be involved in the

Maritime Industry?

My family has always been involved in the maritime industry; my grandfather owned a marine diesel engine company in Seattle, my extended family has worked for various marine related companies, and my father worked for Crowley Marine Services for 35 years, so I always had a healthy appreciation for working on the waterfront.

When I was in college, I wrote my thesis on the impact of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990, and got a chance to inter- view professionals in the towboat business about casualty response operations. For some reason, the idea of work- ing on a marine salvage or oil spill response resonated with me, and working at a commercial diving and salvage com- pany sounded a lot better than working at a consulting company, which was what all of my friends were doing.

One of the original principals at Global gave me an opportunity, told me not to quit my other job, and told me to be at the shop at 0700 every morning to see if they had work. Over the last 15 years, I have enjoyed the opportunity to work with great professionals, and to work for a company that has such an amazing culture of pro- fessional pride.

Please give a brief description on Global Diving &

Salvage, including physical assets, employees, etc.

Global was founded by seven original partners in 1979, and now is owned by two remaining partners, but sub-

Diving Deep

Marine Technology Reporter recently spent some time with Devon Grennan, President of Global Diving &

Salvage, to get his views on the evolution of the diving industry, and challenges ahead. by Greg Trauthwein, Editor