By Karen Donato
Special to the Pioneer Times
From humble beginnings, Robert “Bob” Somerville, son of Alta (Deering) and the late Cedric Somerville has retired from an illustrious career in the marine field by receiving one of the most prestigious awards from the United States Coast Guard. The Distinguished Public Service Award is the highest public recognition given by the Commandant of the Coast Guard, aside from receiving the U.S.C.G Gold and Silver Life-Saving Medals. Somerville has dedicated his career to improving the safety of life at sea and has been a steward for the environment for more than 40 years.
According to a press release from the U.S.C.G. this award recognizes extraordinary heroism in advancing the Coast Guard’s mission and exceptional coordination in matters pertaining to the Coast Guard’s responsibilities. This award also acknowledges personal contributions that have had direct bearing on accomplishing the Coast Guard’s responsibilities.
Contributed photo
HONORED — Robert D. Somerville has received the Distinguished Public Service Award from the United States Coast Guard, the highest public award given aside from receiving the gold and silver life-saving medals.
He began his journey like many others, learning the Aroostook County work ethic in the potato fields. He attended Hodgdon Grade School where some of his teachers included: George and Clara Quint and Gertrude Vail. He went on to Ricker Classical Institute in Houlton where he studied under Hunter Cotton and other well known educators of the community.
While at R.C.I he participated in basketball, mixed chorus, French Club and was on the yearbook staff, where in the senior notes his favorite pastime was water skiing and his ambition was to retire at 21 years of age.
In 1961, with diploma in hand he entered Maine Maritime Academy in Castine to pursue marine studies. He was drawn to this area of concentration by the stories he heard as a child about his great-grandfather, a ship captain who lost his life at sea. Somerville’s grandmother, Marion Pray Somerville had grown up on the Maine coast and shared many stories with her young grandson.
Graduating from the academy in 1965 with a bachelor’s degree in marine engineering, Somerville also earned a U.S. Coast Guard license after passing a three-day test. This particular licensure enabled him to get the sea-going jobs that led him to a rewarding career in the maritime world. He later graduated from the Harvard Business School’s program for management development.
He was hired first by Texaco, eventually rising to the rating of 1st engineer. In 1968, he assumed a position with Newport News Shipbuilding and Dry Dock in the atomic power division, working on the construction of nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers. This company at the time was the largest shipbuilder in the world.
In 1970 Somerville joined the American Bureau of Shipping as a field surveyor. His relationship with this organization has spanned more than four decades and garnered him many accolades in the marine society. Somerville is revered as one of the most influential people in the marine world and has been the catalyst in the development of a unique relationship between the A.B.S. and the U.S. government as well as 125 countries.
This award further celebrates Somerville’s life-long dedication to the safety of life at sea, as well as his environmental stewardship. He has improved the international standards for ship and offshore structure design, construction and inspection. His leadership was pivotal to the introduction of the International Association of Class Societies’ Transfer of Class Agreement, which prevents ships from changing classification to avoid compliance with safety specification.
He was also the driving force for the development of the A.B.S. Rules for Building and Classing Naval Vessels, which are used by military sea services as a guideline for safety and design best practices for newly constructed military ships.
Somerville is an active member of many professional associations and has received numerous awards in recognition of his contributions to maritime safety. In 2006 he was inducted into the International Maritime Hall of Fame at the United Nations. He received the Admiral Halert C. Shepheard Award for his outstanding contributions to marine safety in 2007 by the U.S. Chamber of Shipping. He was the recipient of both the Society of Naval Architect & Marine Engineers Vice Admiral Land Medal for outstanding accomplishments in the marine field and the Massachusetts Maritime Academy Foundation’s Captain Emery Rice Medal for his support of maritime education.
Somerville received an honorary doctorate of science from Maine Maritime Academy and an honorary doctorate of commercial science from the Webb Institute.
He has also impacted the world of academics by initiating and contributing tens of thousands of dollars in scholarships for students pursuing maritime careers, including his alma mater, Maine Maritime Academy, where he serves as vice chairman of the board of trustees.
He not only has been a role model for colleagues and students in other areas, but also for a former Houlton resident, Patrick Hickey.
While in high school Hickey worked during school vacations for the Peabody family on their farm in Carys Mills. It was there that he met Somerville, who came home on break from college to work in the potato house. Hickey listened to stories told by Somerville that led him to choose Maine Maritime Academy following his own graduation from Houlton High School in ‘69.
Hickey, now of Boxford, Mass. is a marine chemist, working for Marine Chemist and Testing Company in Boston.
Hickey said, “One day I was working on a ship in Portugal and was told that the head surveyor was on board. It was Somerville. Amazing that the two of us from a small community in Maine were meeting up so far away.”
Hickey has high regards for Somerville stating that he admires his work ethic and his dedication to this important industry.
He said, “Bob is one of the most powerful people in the worldwide marine industry. He was responsible for selecting Brunswick for an A.B.S. office that reviews ship designs. By moving that part of the A.B.S. operation from India to an office in the former Brunswick Naval Air Station, he provided about 40 jobs for the naval architects and engineers that had been laid off at Bath Iron Works.”
Somerville, Hickey added, had also been honored as “Man of the Year” by the Massachusetts Maritime Academy and he is also included in the “Wall of Fame” at Maine Maritime Academy. This is a place where the school honors their exemplary graduates according to Hickey.
“He went from a potato farm in the County to the top of the maritime industry: no small thing,” Hickey concluded.
From a press release issued by the A.B.S on April 30, the retirement of Somerville marked the ending of an unbroken 20 years with this organization as either president or chairman of the society, the longest ever for its 151 years of existence.
As Somerville transitioned into retirement he was quoted in an A.B.S press release saying, “This is a venerable organization that fulfills an absolutely necessary function within the overall maritime safety regime. I have always viewed my role as a custodian of that proud tradition ensuring that S.B.S. is technically and financially positioned to continue its role in the decades to come. I am confident that goal has been achieved and it is now time for new leadership to continue defining the increasingly important and expanding class function for the future.”
Also included in the society’s press release was that due to the election of Somerville as president, the class society’s fleet had doubled in size to and its staff has also doubled to more than 5,000 worldwide and it has solidified its position as the leading classification society providing services to the rapidly growing offshore energy sector.”
He has certainly left his mark for many years to come.
Somerville currently resides in Houston with his wife, Kathy. He is the father of two grown children, Katie and Rob and has three grandchildren. He looks forward to spending more time with his family, including his mother, Alta at his Deering Lake home, but will continue to share his knowledge and experience as needed with the marine industry as a consultant.
