ÂÜÀòÂÒÂ×

Mr. Blume joined IRI in 2007 after retiring from the USCG following over 20 years of active duty service. During his service in the USCG, Mr. Blume developed a broad base of experience conducting both flag and port State inspections, marine casualty investigations, analysis-based casualty prevention, emergency incident response and management, waterways management, and at sea experience on USCG vessels. Noteworthy accomplishments include: overseeing the new construction inspections of the first two US flagged vessels designed and built to comply with the IMO's 2000 High-Speed Craft Code; coordinating the implementation of the Maritime Transportation Security Act regulations and the ISPS Code for Long Island Sound ports; the multi-million dollar refit of an Alaska Marine System ferry that included repowering and extensive structural fire protection upgrades; coordinating the safety and security risk assessments for a proposed floating, storage and re-gasification unit to import LNG; and, the implementation of a PSC program in Western Alaska. His investigations experience includes joint flag State marine casualty investigations as well as the MARPOL investigations of oil water separator bypasses. He has also co-authored a paper on channel design and ship controllability. Mr. Blume is a member of the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers as well as the International Navigation Association. Mr. Blume holds a Masters of Marine Affairs from the University of Rhode Island as well as degrees from Yale University and the University of Maine.