Page 11 - Port of Baltimore Magazine Oct/Sept 2013
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PORT
SOUNDINGS
NEWSMAKERS
Coast Guard Yard Undergoes
Change in Command
C
apt. George Lesher
of the United States Coast
Guard recently assumed command of the U.S. Coast
Guard Yard in Baltimore,
becoming the 41st Commanding
Officer in the 114-year history
of the shipyard, the Coast
Guard’s only shipbuilding
and major ship repair facility.
Lesher took over upon the
retirement of Capt. Richard
Murphy, a 30-year Coast Guard
veteran who had served as the
shipyard’s Commanding Officer
since May 2010.
A Change of Command
ceremony took place in June at
the Yard’s Columbus Recreation
Center. Rear Admiral Ronald
Rábago, Assistant Commandant
for Engineering & Logistics, pre-
sided over the ceremony while U.S.
Rep. John Sarbanes was among
the guest speakers. The Old Line
Brass Quintet of the 229th Army Band, Maryland National
Guard provided music.
A native of Schaefferstown, Pa., Lesher joined the
Coast Guard as a Direct Commission Engineer after his
undergraduate education. Among his many subsequent
assignments, he was Commanding Officer of the CGC
Dependable
from 2009 until 2011, when he became the Coast
Guard Yard’s Industrial Manager.
Lesher’s personal decora-
tions include two Meritorious
Service Medals, four Coast Guard
Commendation Medals (with
Operational Distinguishing Device),
an Achievement Medal (with
Operational Distinguishing Device)
and several unit awards.
The Coast Guard Yard is an
industrially funded, $86 million
annual gross revenue business
with a workforce of 593 civilian
employees and 75 military
members. Founded in 1899, the
full-service shipyard is responsible
for the repair and modernization of
a variety of Coast Guard cutters and
for the manufacturing of Coast Guard
equipment that provides critical
service to the Coast Guard fleet.
Before a crowd of 500 guests and the workforce of
the U.S. Coast Guard Yard, Capt. George Lesher, left,
assumed command of the Coast Guard Yard from
Capt. Richard Murphy, right, in June. Presiding over
the ceremony was Rear Admiral Ronald Rábago,
center, Assistant Commandant for Engineering &
Logistics, U.S. Coast Guard.
OFFICIAL USCG PHOTO
SHIPPING
WWL Expands
Ocean Service
from Mexico
W
allenius
Wilhelmsen
Logistics
(WWL)
has expanded its ocean
transportation service
from Veracruz, Mexico.
As of September, WWL
is offering two to three
sailings per month from
Veracruz to service the
Port of Baltimore and
other U.S. East Coast
ports. The vessels
will then proceed to
Europe, calling Antwerp,
Bremerhaven and
Southampton. The service
also offers the capability
to connect to routes
across WWL’s network
around the world.
“WWL is
excited to support
manufacturer
needs for ocean
transportation
from Mexico to the U.S. East
Coast and beyond,” said
Rich Heintzelman, Executive
Vice President for Wallenius
Wilhelmsen Logistics
Americas. “As we see a shift
toward greater domestic
manufacturing in
Mexico, it will become
increasingly important to
strengthen export-bound
ocean services from Mexico
around the globe.”
