The feat, which Consol attributes to its safety initiative efforts, is the first earned by one of the company's River Operations segments. To mark the achievement, Mon River Towing earned Consol's R.E. Bailey Safety Trophy reserved for divisions that pass the million-hour mark without a lost-time accident.

"This outstanding accomplishment can be attributed directly to Consol's safety initiative, which challenges each employee to perform their job safely and without injury," said river operations vice-president Deane Orr.

"An achievement like this is not only a matter of training, but also a personal commitment by every employee to make safety the top priority on the job."

Consol marketing senior vice-president James Grech concurred: "Over the previous three years Mon River Towing averaged 607 lost work days per year due to injury. To take that number to 'zero' in just one year shows the dedication and resolve of all the employees of our River Operations to work in an environment that expects zero accidents and accepts nothing less."

The 142-worker transport division ships coal from the producer's operations to several power plants located on the Monongahela and Ohio rivers.

In related news, Consol said Tuesday that it has inked three-year deals to ship coal to unnamed European customers.

"We are beginning to do multi-year deals for thermal coal to Europe," external affairs vice-president Tom Hoffman told Reuters.

"We've seen three [years]. Those are deals done."