ANDREW E. GIBSON DIES AT 79

ANDREW E. GIBSON DIES AT 79

ANDREW E. GIBSON DIES AT 79

Andrew E. Gibson, assistant secretary for maritime affairs in the U.S. Department of Commerce from 1969 to 1972 and the well-known author of “The Abandoned Ocean: A History of U.S. Maritime Policy” (1999), died on July 8. He lived in Short Hills, N.J.

   Gibson, whose job as assistant secretary was the equivalent of maritime administrator today, was a force behind moving the Maritime Administration out of the Department of Commerce and into the Department of Transportation.

   In government, Gibson most recently served as director of the Panama Canal Commission from 1982 to 1991, a presidential appointment. In the private sector, he was chairman of American Automar Inc. from 1983 to 1999. Before that, he had been president of Delta Steamship Lines from 1979 to 1982, and president of Maher Terminals from 1975 to 1977.

   A 1942 graduate of the Massachusetts Maritime Academy, Gibson received a PhD from the University of Wales in Cardiff in 1994.

   A memorial service will be held Aug. 4 at 2 p.m. in Christ Church, Summit, N.J.