Sember Honored By U.S. Merchant Marine Academy

The U.S. Merchant Marine Academy (USMMA) will honor ABS’ Vice President of Energy Development William J. Sember with its RearAdmiral Lauren S. McCready Award during the Society of Naval Architects and Marine Engineers (SNAME) Annual Maritime Technology Conference & Expo in Houston, TX, October 19-21. The award recognizes outstanding commitment and achievement to the maritime industry by an alumnus of the USMMA at Kings Point, New York. It is named after RearAdmiral Lauren S. McCready, one of the founders and builders of the USMMA who is credited with building the institution’s outstanding engineering department. Sember’s selection was unanimous. “I am both humbled and honored to be selected,” said Sember. An ABS Corporate Officer, Sember joined ABS in 1975 as a surveyor after serving at sea as a marine engineer. Throughout his career at ABS he has held a number of increasingly senior positions from field surveyor to Manager of the Offshore Engineering Department, Regional Vice President ABS Europe, Vice President Technology and Business Development Europe and now his current role as Vice President Energy Development.

Under Sember’s leadership the classification of offshore structures has increased significantly with ABS holding the leading marketshare in offshore classification worldwide. Additionally, Sember has led the advancement of ABS technology and business development in the area of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers and their associated offshore terminals.

Sember has been an active participant in many industry associations throughout his career including serving as Chairman of the Houston chapter of the Offshore Marine Artic Engineers (OMAE), Chairman of the American Petroleum Institute (API) Subcommittee on Floating Systems and Chairman of the International Association of Classification Societies (IACS) Working Party on Drilling Units. He is a graduate of the USMMA with a Degree in Marine Engineering and has completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School. He also holds a United States Coast Guard (USCG) marine engineers license and is a licensed professional engineer.