USNS Grapple wins safety award

As Rough As It May Seem,It's Still Steady As You Go...

Rescue and salvage ship USNS Grapple won the 2007 Department

of the Navy safety excellence award in the Military Sealift Command

category, Secretary of the Navy Donald C. Winter announced today.

The 255-foot ship is currently operating out of Norfolk, Va., and is

crewed by civil service mariners and a small military detachment of

active-duty Navy sailors.

Grapple's crew was recognized for both successfully transitioning the

ship from military to civilian operations and safely completing its

missions with a substantially smaller crew.

"It's difficult taking a Navy ship of 20 years and converting it into

civilian mode," said Capt. Curt Smith, Grapple's civil service master.

"They had up to 120 crew members and now we're operating on 26."

Not only did Grapple pass its first Ship Material Assessment and

Readiness Training (SMART) assessment, but the crew has also

initiated and hosted on-board safety trainings and developed a ship-

board training manual outlining firefighting and lifesaving capabilities

and functions of the ship.

"The entire crew is a part of our safety program," said Smith. "Safety

isn't something with think about a couple of times a month - it's part of

our routine."

The Department of the Navy safety excellence award program recognizes

Navy and Marine Corps teams, ships and installations for exceptional

commitment to safety and operational risk management.

In the announcement message, Winter extended his personal

congratulations to the winners, telling them, "Your achievements serve

as visible examples of how increased safety performance directly

contributes to improved mission readiness. Thank you for your initiative

and ingenuity."

The award ceremony will be held in Washington, D.C., in October.

Grapple is one of four rescue and salvage ships whose capabilities include

rescue and assistance, off-ship fire fighting, recovery of submerged

objects, diving and salvage and towing. It was decommissioned and

transferred to MSC in 2006.

Military Sealift Command operates approximately 110 noncombatant,

civilian-crewed ships that replenish U.S. Navy ships, chart ocean

bottoms,conduct undersea surveillance, strategically preposition

combat cargo at sea around the world and move military equipment

and supplies used by deployed U.S. forces.