Page 93: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (November 2010)

Johnson Joins Senesco Marine

Senesco Marine located in North Kingstown,

R.I., announced that it is bringing on board Tom

Johnson who will be responsible for new busi- ness development expanding the ship builders services to the commercial market. Johnson is a 1969 graduate of the Texas Maritime Academy holding a B/S in Marine Engineering, U.S. Coast

Guard license and commission in the U.S. Navy at the time of graduation. Johnson will operate a

Senesco Marine office in Houston, Texas seek- ing new vessel building opportunities with the pe- troleum tank barge, oil and gas exploration and production, and short sea shipping operators.

Christian Joins Creative Systems

John W. Christian started his maritime career at Kings

Point, USMMA, in the 1970s performing classwork on facility-sized main- frames, while Creative Sys- tems was developing stability software on similar machines in Seattle. Since then he has accumulated wide-ranging experience in marine and computer tech- nology while Creative Systems has become a leading supplier of marine software. Christian combines experience in merchant, naval, and off- shore activities, both international and domestic, with business, computer, and training back- grounds. He is that link, often missing, between the engineers and the real world. His formal ed- ucation includes Master's degrees in Business

Administration, Technology Management and

Computer Information added to his Bachelor's in

Nautical Science and Marine Transportation.

Christian is well-equipped to understand the needs of the naval architects, salvage engineers, navies, coast guards, regulatory agencies, and ship operators who depend on the GHS software.

ABS NS Strengthens Management Team

ABS Nautical Systems added four senior exec- utives to lead the firm’s growth globally.

Thomas Blenk has been appointed Vice Presi- dent of Global Operations for ABS Nautical Sys- tems based in Houston. Blenk, a veteran of ABS with over 12 years of experience in both classifi- cation and operations, oversees the account man- agement and consulting teams and is overall responsible for implementation of the NS5 soft- ware suite for customers worldwide.

Brad Achorn has been appointed to the ABS

NS management team as Regional Vice Presi- dent, working in the Piraeus office. A veteran of

ABS for 13 years, Achorn started as a surveyor and has held a number of increasingly senior po- sitions throughout his career, until his most re- cent as ABS Country Manager for Denmark.

Darren Unger has been promoted to Director of

Global Account Management for ABS NS based in Houston. A 28 year veteran of ABS, Unger is responsible for client satisfaction and retention, as well as inside aftermarket sales, development of business plans and servicing key accounts.

Alvaro Pozo has been promoted to Regional

Director for the South America region and is based in Viña del Mar, Chile. Pozo has been with

ABS NS since 1999.

November 2010 www.marinelink.com 91

Austal Graduates 21 Apprentices

Austal USA honored the second set of graduates of its four- year apprenticeship program with a banquet in Mobile, Ala. The 21 graduates honored received their certificates of completion and designation as Department of Labor Class A Journeymen. “The apprentice training program at Austal challenges the stu- dents both academically and practically,” said Joseph J. Rella,

Austal USA President and COO.

The program is certified by the U.S. Department of Labor, Al- abama Department of Post Secondary Education, and the Vet- eran's Administration and governed by the Department of Labor

Standards of Apprenticeship for the respective trades of Pipefit- ter, Marine Electrician, Fabricator, and Fitout. The Alabama De- partment of Post Secondary Education has approved our four trade programs for the Veteran's Administration which means that all eligible veterans may now apply for and receive GI Bill benefits that were earned for military service. 4th from left, Joe Rella, Austal USA President and COO with 2010 graduates of the 4-year Austal Electrical Apprentice- ship Program.

Christian