Direct ChassisLink, Inc. (“DCLI”) is pleased to announce that its CEO, Bill Shea, was honored by the Maritime Association of the Port of NY/NJ with its prestigious International Maritime Hall of Fame Award. The award ceremony, which recognized Mr. Shea along with four other maritime industry leaders, was held on Wednesday, May 17, at the Chelsea Piers in New York City. The ceremony featured a video narrated by DCLI’s President Lee Newitt and filled with congratulatory messages and highlights from Bill’s career. In addition to the award ceremony, Mr. Shea was honored with a surprise luncheon for his family and colleagues earlier in the day at Eataly in Manhattan’s Flatiron district.

Mr. Shea has more than four decades of experience in the transportation leasing industry, starting his career with Itel Rail Corporation in 1979. He later co-founded Kelley Transportation Services and Bay Cities Leasing, LLC. Having served as DCLI’s CEO for over a decade, Mr. Shea helped orchestrate the spin-off of the company from Maersk in 2012. He was also the thought-leader behind the creation of the Pool of Pools, the interoperable daily-use chassis pool that serves the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, in 2015.

Michael Moore, chairman of DCLI’s board of directors, said, “Bill has had a tremendous impact on the intermodal industry throughout his career, most recently by helping transform the nation’s chassis fleet over the last decade. Having worked with him across three different DCLI owners, I have witnessed first-hand the many contributions he has made both to the company’s success and to that of the maritime sector as a whole. I wholeheartedly congratulate him on this well-deserved award.”

Outside of the transportation industry, Mr. Shea has a long history serving charitable organizations and founded three charity wine auctions that have raised over $60 million for children’s causes. He also sits on the advisory board of Family House, Inc., an 80-unit facility that houses families whose children are undergoing treatment for life-threatening illnesses at the University of California San Francisco Benioff Children’s Hospital.

Established in 1873, the Maritime Association of the Port of NY/NJ serves the commercial maritime industry in the Port of New York and New Jersey advocating for the safety of navigation, security of maritime assets, sustainability of the marine environment, and a proponent of cost-effective solutions. The organization has presented the International Maritime Hall of Fame Award, now in its 29th year, to visionaries who, through excellence in their organizations, exemplify the qualities of futuristic thinking in the maritime industry. In addition to Mr. Shea, this year’s honorees were Griff Lynch, Brian Buckley McAllister, Jeremy Nixon, and Semiramis Paliou.

“It is an honor to be inducted into the International Maritime Association Hall of Fame,” said Mr. Shea, “and the award is truly a reflection of the efforts of the entire DCLI organization over the past twelve years.”

To learn more about the International Maritime Hall of Fame Award, please visit the Maritime Association of the Port of NY/NJ’s website.