On September 10, Captain Eric Johansson received the Meritorious Public Service Award during a special ceremony at the Alexander Hamilton U.S. Customs House in Battery Park City, NY.

Admiral Karl Schultz, Commandant of the Coast Guard, personally awarded Captain Johansson, Distinguished Service Professor, Professor of Marine Transportation, and Chair of the Marine Technology and Operations Department at Maritime College, a medal and service award citation. It read, “The Commandant of the United States Coast Guard takes great pleasure in presenting the Coast Guard Meritorious Public Service Award to Mr. Eric J. Johansson for exception commitment and substantial contributions while serving as Vice Chairman of the Towing Safety Advisory Committee (TSAC) from June 4, 2014 to December 4, 2020. Mr. Johansson’s exceptional leadership was essential in the publication of five actionable final reports that informed the Coast Guard on the standardization of shipboard procedures, the development of novel fire prevention and containment measures, and the improvement of operational processes across the Nation’s 7,400 towing vessel fleet. A stalwart at building relationships, Mr. Johansson’s led the coordinated effort between the Coast Guard and the maritime industry to extract lessons learned from the investigation of the MV MODU KULLUK grounding.  Mr. Johansso’s efforts also resulted in a heighten awareness of best practices for executing heavy weather towing operations and marine casualty response in harsh environments.  Mr. Johansson’s dedication and superior accomplishments are most heartily commended and are in keeping with he highest traditions of the U.S. Coast Guard.  

Photo l-r: Captain Zeita Merchant, USCG, Sector NY Commander; Admiral Karl L. Schultz, USCG, Commandant; Capt. Eric Johansson; RADM Thomas G. Allan Jr., USCG, First District Commander