Media Advisory: Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Portland scheduled to receive new commander

U.S. Coast Guard sent this bulletin at 06/06/2019 06:31 PM EDT

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U.S. Coast Guard 13th District PA Detachment Astoria
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Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Portland scheduled to receive new commander

Petty Officer 1st Class Jeffrey Deronde, Chief Petty Officer David Labadie, and Mike Pearson, all marine inspectors at Marine Safety Unit Portland, inspect the sacrificial anodes attached to the hull of the Tug Washington in Portland, Ore., March 5, 2019. Members of the Washington Homeland Security Roundtable practice immersion suit survival techniques in the Willamette River at the docks of Marine Safety Unit Portland, Ore., July 16, 2018. Petty Officer 1st Class Eric Kelley, a marine science technician at Coast Guard Marine Safety Unit Portland, stands next to a low-pressure C02 system tank aboard the vessel Morning Catherine during a Port State Control exam at the Port of Portland, Portland, Ore., May 1, 2017.

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PORTLAND, Ore. — The crew of Marine Safety Unit Portland (MSU) is scheduled to hold a change of command ceremony, Friday, at 11 a.m., at the MSU base in Portland.

 

During the traditional military ceremony, Capt. Thomas Griffitts will transfer command to Capt. Al Moore with Rear Adm. David Throop, commander Coast Guard 13th District, presiding during the ceremony.

 

Moore most recently served as chief, Port State Control (PSC) Division at Coast Guard Headquarters’ Office of Commercial Vessel Compliance. His duties included the following: oversight of the Coast Guard’s Port State Control program for foreign vessel safety, security and environmental compliance exams, QUALSHIP 21/E-Zero program, and worldwide travel serving as U.S. delegate/observer to nine PSC Memorandum of Understanding regimes. Other duties included regulatory development project support and implementation of national policies, procedures, and training objectives.

 

After the change of command ceremony, Griffitts will be retiring after 27 years of Coast Guard service. As the commander of Marine Safety Unit Portland, he was responsible for executing the Coast Guard’s prevention mission in two sectors spanning a vast three-state region. His executive leadership enabled 480 Active, Reserve, Civilian, and Auxiliary personnel to conduct more than 6,000 prevention activities, protecting vital natural resources, safeguarding 250,000 passengers and mariners, and transporting 50-million tons of cargo annually in one of the Nation's most challenging environments.

Previous tours include traveling marine inspector at Coast Guard Headquarters in Washington, D.C., where he served as one of the Coast Guard’s technical experts for inspection of commercial vessels. Before that, he was the executive officer, Activities Far East in Tokyo, Japan where he oversaw all Coast Guard marine safety and port security missions in the Asia-Pacific Region which was among many stops in his Coast Guard career including Hawaii, Singapore, American Samoa, Maine, New York and Alaska.

MSU Portland’s area of responsibility includes Oregon, Southern Washington, and Western Idaho. Unit crewmembers are responsible for all vessel inspections and promoting marine safety issues such as port security, marine environmental response, maritime law enforcement and search and rescue. MSU Portland is also one of the key coordinators of maritime safety during the Portland Rose Festival.

The change of command ceremony is a time-honored tradition deeply rooted in Coast Guard and Naval history. The event signifies a total transfer of responsibility, authority and accountability for the command. The ceremony is attended by all members of the unit so they may witness the transfer of leadership.

 

-USCG-