Published on April 15, 2025 9:08 am
Last Updated on April 15, 2025 9:08 am
ExxonMobil LNG, a subsidiary of US energy giant ExxonMobil, has paid tribute to two late employees, one an Effingham native, by naming liquefied natural gas carriers after them. ExxonMobil will charter the ships from South Korea’s H-Line Shipping.
One of the two vessels was named HL Edward Austin for T. Edward Austin, who died in 2023. Austin worked at ExxonMobil for nearly 15 years.
ExxonMobil released a statement, “ExxonMobil is honored to name two LNG tanker ships in memory of Alyssa Warner and Ed Austin, beloved colleagues who left us too soon. Their contributions and spirit left a lasting impact, and this tribute ensures their legacy will continue to sail on.”
Edward Austin attended the St. Anthony Schools in Effingham. He received his Bachelor of Science in Mechanical Engineering degree from the US Military Academy in West Point, New York and his Master’s in Business Administration from the University of Illinois. Before joining ExxonMobil in 2008, he served for more than nine years as a US Army aviator, achieving the rank of Captain. His service included a variety of command and staff positions in the US, Europe, South Korea and deployments to Iraq and Afghanistan. During Austin’s career with ExxonMobil, he progressed through a variety of global scope commercial, strategic planning, and analytical roles serving in assignments in the US, Qatar, and Singapore. In 2018, he was named Vice President of ExxonMobil LNG Market Development after leading ExxonMobil’s global LNG Business and Market Analysis function. Prior to that, he served as Marketing Manager for ExxonMobil Qatar Limited where he concluded the first long-term LNG sales and purchase agreement into Brazil. His career included broad commercial upstream experience in business development, strategy and direct marketing roles globally.
The 174,000 cubic meter LNG carrier, HL Edward Austin, has an overall length of 290 meters. Its moulded breadth is 45.8 meters. Another ExxonMobil spokesperson said that “…the ship carries enough LNG to heat 28,000 homes for a month ad will travel the world for generations to come.”
Among those attending the ceremony, in addition to ExxonMobil, Samsung, and H-Line Shipping representatives, were family and friends including Austin’s wife Amanda Austin-Ellis and his children Gabi and Crews, of Houston, TX; his parents, William and Jane Austin of Effingham; and his sister, Hilary Austin Blumenreich of Bronxville, New York.
