Alaska’s former top U.S. Coast Guard official will soon head up the world’s largest cruise-industry trade group.
Rear Adm. Thomas Ostebo takes over July 6 as CEO of the Cruise Lines International Association.
Ostebo served as commander of the Coast Guard’s 17th District from 2011 to 2014. The district includes all of Alaska.
The Coast Guard oversees federal laws and regulations relating to the cruise industry.
Ostebo spent the past year as the agency’s strategic management director, based at its Washington, D.C., headquarters. The cruise association’s main office is also in the nation’s capital.
It’s a major force in maritime lobbying, representing more than 60 cruise lines, including most of those sailing Alaska waters.
Ostebo will oversee the association’s 15 worldwide offices, including one in Alaska.
Ed Schoenfeld is Regional News Director for CoastAlaska, a consortium of public radio stations in Ketchikan, Juneau, Sitka, Petersburg and Wrangell.
He primarily covers Southeast Alaska regional topics, including the state ferry system, transboundary mining, the Tongass National Forest and Native corporations and issues.
He has also worked as a manager, editor and reporter for the Juneau Empire newspaper and Juneau public radio station KTOO. He’s also reported for commercial station KINY in Juneau and public stations KPFA in Berkley, WYSO in Yellow Springs, Ohio, and WUHY in Philadelphia. He’s lived in Alaska since 1979 and is a contributor to Alaska Public Radio Network newscasts, the Northwest (Public Radio) News Network and National Native News. He is a board member of the Alaska Press Club. Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, he lives in Douglas.
