Carnival Sets Up Safety & Reliability Review Board

MarineLink.com July 15, 2013

Carnival Triumph: Photo courtesy of Scott Lucht CCL

Carnival Cruise Lines has appointed four esteemed maritime and transportation industry experts – Rear Admiral Mark H. Buzby, Rear Admiral Joseph F. Campbell, Ray Valeika and Dr. John K. Lauber -- to the company's new Safety & Reliability Review Board.

As part of Carnival's comprehensive fleetwide technical enhancement program, the review board was created to provide independent third-party perspective and to drive continuous improvement across the line's fleet. The core objectives of the board are to review Carnival Cruise Lines' current policies, practices and performance and to guide the company in incorporating best practices from other relevant fields and industries. The four new board members are:

• Rear Admiral Mark H. Buzby Rear Admiral Mark H. Buzby will be retiring from the U.S. Navy on August 1 after a 34 year career as a Surface Warfare officer. For the past three and a half years, he commanded the Navy's Military Sealift Command (MSC), responsible for the operation and maintenance of 112 civilian manned logistics, support, special mission, and prepositioning ships operating around the globe.

• Rear Admiral Joseph F. Campbell was an engineering duty officer in the U.S. Navy for more than 32 years. He served in various waterfront maintenance tours and commanded Norfolk Naval Shipyard for two separate periods from 2003 to 2006 and from 2012 to 2013.

• Ray Valeika is an internationally recognized aviation operations expert with more than 40 years of experience in managing large airline maintenance operations. After retiring from Delta Air Lines as senior vice president - technical operations, Valeika works as an independent consultant for global maintenance and engineering firms.

• Dr. John K. Lauber previously served as senior vice president and chief product safety officer for Airbus SAS in Toulouse, France, and also was vice president – safety and technical affairs for Airbus North America in Washington, DC.

"In April, Carnival Cruise Lines announced a major initiative encompassing technical, safety and reliability enhancements," said Gerry Cahill, president and CEO of Carnival Cruise Lines. "That initiative encompasses a $300 million investment to significantly enhance emergency power capabilities, introduce new fire safety technologies and improve the level of operating redundancies across our entire 24-ship fleet, as well as the formation of a Safety & Reliability Review Board."

In addition to these external members, the Safety & Reliability Review Board will also include technical experts from within Carnival Cruise Lines.