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22 st / June 2017 www.sea-technology.com of Sciences Transportation Review Board, and an in- dependent industry safety consultant. Speakers NOIA members warmly welcomed Interior Secre- tary Ryan Zinke. In his first remarks specifically to the offshore energy industry, Zinke made it clear that the Trump Administration be- lieves that energy develop- ment and responsible envi- ronmental stewardship are not mutually exclusive. He acknowledged the need to unshackle the U.S. energy industry from job-killing regulatory over-reach to al- low companies to do what they do best: safely produce en- ergy and economic security for the U.S. He said one of his first priorities is to restore trust between regulators and the offshore industry. NOIA also welcomed several new members of Congress. In a breakfast sponsored by the Government Affairs Com- mittee, Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) outlined ways he felt the U.S. could boost job creation. Among them were lower tax- es and reasonable regulations, two areas strongly supported by the audience. Later on during the Annual Meeting, Sen. Luther Strange (R-Ala.) spoke about the near-term Congres- sional agenda and touched on health care and tax reform and the Supreme Court. A former NOIA member from his time at Transocean, Strange also discussed his own offshore experiences. Finally, Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) gave her own prognostication of the timing of the Congres- sional agenda and outlined the agenda of Congressional Republicans. Vali R. Nasr, dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Ad- vanced and International Studies, joined the NOIA Annual T he National Ocean Indus- tries Association (NOIA) held its Annual Meeting April 5 to 7, 2017 at the Ritz-Carl- ton in Washington, D.C., with about 150 members in atten- dance. Speakers included mem- bers of Congress and the Trump Administration, aca- demics, policy leaders and industry executives. Present- ers and attendees discussed the agendas of both President Donald Trump and Congress, offshore access and regula- tory policy, recovery of the oil and gas industry, the outlook for oil and gas development in the Arctic and the U.S. Gulf of Mexico, and business opportunities for U.S. companies in Mexican waters. Safety in Seas Awards During the meeting, Arena Offshore of The Woodlands, Texas, and Frank's International of Houston, Texas, were awarded the 2017 NOIA Safety in Seas (SIS) Awards, which are sponsored by Compass Publications Inc., the publisher of Sea Technology magazine. Outgoing NOIA Chairman Kevin McEvoy, CEO of Oceaneering International, present- ed the awards. Frank's International received the Safety Practice Award for the Jet String Elevator, a new and innovative lifting device that can render deepwater large-diameter pipe-handling procedures while improving the overall safety and efficien- cy of offshore drilling operations. Arena Offshore received the Culture of Safety Award in recognition of its remarkable safety culture transformation since 2011. The award-winning entries were selected by a panel of judges from the U.S. Coast Guard, the Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, the National Academy NOIA 2017 Annual Meeting ST Conference Review From left to right: independent industry consultant and SIS judge Elmer "Bud" Danenberger III; Douglas Stephens, president and CEO of Frank's International; Oceaneering International CEO and NOIA Chairman Kevin McEvoy; and Mike McCauley, Arena Off- shore operations general manager.