The Reach of Our Vision--The American Waterway Operators at 75 by Bookhouse Group

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

operators, and expansion into the Pacific region, allowed AWO to dramatically increase its influence in Washington, D.C.

A longtime AWO member, based in the Pacific Northwest, recently

The organization wasn’t without

noted that at its core, the American

its difficulties. In the early 1980s, a

Waterways Operators consisted of

near-crippling turn in the economy

“good people, doing good work for a

saw members go out of business,

great industry.” How true. But how

fleet equipment lying idle, and

the organization got to that point is

membership sharply declined.

a story 75 years in the making.

But as in other times, through the efforts of strong leadership and

What began as a struggling but

incredible member support, AWO

ambitious group of industry players

and the industry bounced back.

evolved over the decades into the

Membership rose and staffing levels

tip of the spear for the economic

at AWO’s own offices increased,

efficacy of the hundreds of members

including the opening of a west

and associate members, but also for

coast office.

the safety of hundreds of thousands of workers on boats and on shore.

All along the way, AWO maintained

And through its decades-long

a stout bipartisan approach to

defense of the Jones Act, AWO is

business, working with legislators,

the steadfast bulwark against any

the United States Coast Guard,

alien transit in America’s inter- and

and other entities—anyone or

intracoastal waterways.

any group that could advance the organization’s goals of looking out

AWO was launched in postwar

not only for its members but for the

America in 1944 at its first meeting

country as a whole.

in St. Louis, Missouri. Many of the early members were small family

The story is only beginning, as

owned and operated companies.

far as AWO and its members are

But over time, the inclusion of “blue

concerned.

water” companies, along with the existing “brown water”

THE REACH OF OUR VISION

“We can take great hope from the role this industry has played, and will play, in the life and livelihood of America. . . . I submit that we are limited only by the depth of our commitment and the reach of our vision.”

—Joseph A. Farrell III President of AWO, 1983 to 1994

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

AWO Project Manager Deanna Wisniewski Book Development Bookhouse Group, Inc. www.bookhouse.net Covington, Georgia Amy Meadows Author Rob Levin Editor Rick Korab Designer Bob Land Copy Editor Renée Peyton Production Manager

Copyright © 2019 The American Waterways Operators All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from The American Waterways Operators.

The American Waterways Operators 801 North Quincy Street, Suite 200 Arlington, VA 22203 https://www.americanwaterways.com

VII

AWO VO I C E S “ IT’S GOOD PEOPLE, DOING GOOD WORK FOR A GREAT INDUSTRY.”

It’s important to be associated with first-class tug and towboat operators, and our relationship with AWO is consistent with our desire to be known as a first-class operator. Critical to us is the excellent collaboration and cohesiveness among members with a deep bench of experience in the industry.

—Rick Iuliucci, The Vane Brothers Company

AWO continues to make our industry the safest, most economically feasible and environmentally friendly form of transportation in the country. It is the only trade organization that has the interests of the towboat and barge industry as its sole mission.

—Darin Adrian, Marquette Transportation

Company, Inc.

AWO has made the industry safer, better regulated, and more efficient. I’m proud of the standards to which AWO holds its membership and the support and tools it supplies its members. AWO and its members are working hard to make the industry safer, protect our people, our physical assets, and our environment. Just as important, AWO aids with the security and economic wellbeing of our nation.

—Frank Morton, Turn Services, LLC

All AWO members truly have a voice in setting the organization’s priorities. Moran has worked on pretty much every initiative at one point or another. I’ve watched as AWO has given us a respected voice in Washington, DC, and provides a forum for sharing best practices—this is essential for continuous improvement.

—Ted Tregurtha, Moran Towing Corporation

With membership so regionally encompassing, AWO literally speaks for the tug and barge industry. AWO’s membership represents a vital network of operators who efficiently transport the very products that make up the foundation of the American economy. It’s that membership that demonstrates a commitment to the highest standards of safety and environmental responsibility.

—Mark Smith, Vitus Energy, LLC

It’s critical to know that AWO has increased the awareness and importance of the Jones Act.

—Erik Larsen, Trident Maritime Systems LLC

PROLOGUE

An Invisible Industry XI

CHAPTER ONE

THE AWO COMMUNITY

At the Helm 1

CHAPTER TWO

ADVOCACY

The Long Haul 15

CHAPTER THREE

SAFETY

All Hands on Deck 33

The most important thing to know about AWO? It’s good people, doing good work for a great industry.

AWO completely altered the safety culture of the industry with the creation and implementation of the RCP, and it created an impeccable reputation with key regulators and administrations. —Bruce Reed,

CHAPTER FOUR

SECURITY

Batten Down the Hatches 47

Tidewater Transportation & Terminals

AFTERWORD By Tom Allegretti and Jennifer Carpenter 56

The American Waterways Operators would like to thank the following sponsors for their support.

NE SALV RI

Silver

E, INC. AG

T&T MA

Gold

H M A N G RO U

PROLOGUE

An Invisible Industry In March 1986, Jeffrey A. Smith, then–Vice President of Public Affairs for the American Waterways Operators (AWO), wrote, “Compared to our competitors, we are relatively invisible to the nation’s public. Millions of Americans each year travel for business or pleasure by jet aircraft. Every day, the public encounters countless trucks on the highways. The railroads crisscross the nation in a huge, highly visible and audible network of tracks and trains. But the silent, lumbering, cargo-laden barges, towboats, and tugboats that ply the inland and coastal waterways of the nation are relatively unnoticed, and unknown, by the very people who benefit from the products we deliver and from the efficiency and low prices we provide.” In one succinct paragraph, Smith eloquently explained the significance of the tugboat, towboat, and barge industry represented by AWO. The American Waterways Operators was incorporated in Delaware on May 22, 1944, during World War II to give members of the industry a forum to come together as one entity and navigate the myriad regulations and priorities that came with the unparalleled demands of transporting freight during that difficult era. And in the 75 years since its inception, AWO not only has maintained this role as the industry’s lead advocate by working to educate government decisionmakers and the public but has also evolved into a proactive organization committed to helping members improve safety, environmental stewardship, and security. This is the story of AWO and the events that helped shape not only the association but also the industry that it so proudly represents. From AWO’s earliest days speaking on behalf of fewer than 100 member companies to its current role broadly serving more than 300 inland and coastal waterways operators and affiliate members, the association has strived to shine a light on this vital industry that impacts nearly every aspect of American life. Its efforts have been unwavering, and its accomplishments have helped to ensure the industry’s long-term success. The work continues to this day, and 75 years into AWO’s history, there is so much more that can—and undoubtedly will—be added to the story of this impactful organization. As Joseph Farrell, President of AWO from 1983 to 1994, once noted, “We can take great hope from the role this industry has played, and will play, in the life and livelihood of America. . . . I submit that we are limited only by the depth of our commitment and the reach of our vision.”

THE AWO

XII

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75 C H A P T E R

O N E

COMMUNITY At the Helm During his sophomore year of college, George Foster took a summer job as a deckhand on a harbor boat in St. Louis. In 1976, he cofounded Jefferson Barracks Marine Service Inc., a St. Louis Harbor–based barge fleeting and switching service, and independently started JB Marine Service Inc. in 1999, focusing on barge cleaning and repair services.

He has dedicated more than five decades to the domestic maritime industry, and his story of moving up through the ranks and ultimately owning his own company is similar to the experiences of other distinguished industry leaders who have also spent their professional lives working in various capacities along America’s waterways. These individuals not only have a keen understanding of what it really takes to be responsible for moving more than 760 million tons of commodities—from petroleum, chemicals, and coal to agricultural products and manufactured goods—throughout the United States annually, but also how their work affects the economy and the lives of everyday Americans. “When you talk about the number of barges that flow up and down the Mississippi River or the volume that comes into the ports along the coast, they are huge numbers. It has a tremendous effect on employment. And it’s not just the people on the boats. It’s the people in the terminals. It’s 1 1

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

the people who work in the shipyards. It’s the people who work on the harbor boats. It’s the people who work driving the trucks that are bringing the grain to the facilities to load on to a barge,” explains Foster, who served as Chairman of the Board for the American Waterways Operators in 2010. “I think we have a great group of people in this industry. And even though we’re competitors, we get along with one another, and we all work very hard with a common goal.” Since AWO’s inception in 1944, that goal has been to provide the nation with a truly safe, efficient, and economical mode of transportation for the cargo that must traverse the country each and every day. It’s a difficult job, and the individuals who are part of the tugboat, towboat, and barge industry take it very seriously. “The vibrancy of the towing industry is a direct result of the ingenuity, resourcefulness, and work ethic of the men and women who comprise it,” says Thomas A. Allegretti, President and CEO of AWO since 1994. “Our members are decent and hardworking. They are salt-of-the-earth people who are invested in American values. They care about the people who work for them. They always want to do the right thing. And that’s the philosophy that drives their work.” Yet the industry’s ability to do some of the country’s most critical work has been challenged in a variety of ways over the years. Fortunately, 75 years ago, industry leaders decided to come together as one entity to tackle the challenges they faced using a common voice powered by the expertise of those who know the industry best. That decision, and the subsequent efforts by members from across the country, paved the way for AWO to become what it is today. In the Beginning In 1945, AWO’s first President, Chester C. Thompson, wrote in the association’s annual report, “There are many serious and complicated problems facing the United States in the period immediately ahead, and our industry most certainly is no exception. The much-talked-about postwar period is upon us with all the confusion and uncertainty predicted. Competition in transportation and transportation services is now very keen and probably will become more so before the general economic situation improves.

The tugboat, towboat, and barge industry contributes almost $34 billion in direct and indirect contributions to the GDP.

Never was a strong national organization

domestic

water carriers and operators needed more than at this time. It is needed to guard and protect the progress our industry has made

and to help it obtain the prestige and the recognition it is entitled to in the national transportation economy.”

CHAPTER ONE THE AWO COMMUNITY: AT THE HELM

The members of the tugboat, towboat, and barge industry recognized the unique challenges of a postwar period because they experienced similar conditions after the end of World War I, when different elements of the transportation industry competed aggressively to serve as the means by which freight would be carried throughout the United States. In the early 1920s, the barge industry struggled greatly and strived to build itself into a viable option. The government-owned Federal Barge Line, which operated on the Mississippi, Missouri, and Warrior Rivers, made traction throughout the 1930s, and because it was federally subsidized in order to maintain traffic on the river system, it was less subject to the anticompetitive practices of other modes of freight transportation. As private barge companies entered the fray in the late 1930s and early 1940s, they realized what they would need, particularly as the country entered the post–World War II era. “The company owners said, ‘We need better representation in Washington. If we don’t get that representation, we’re going to repeat the performance that we had in the

Chester C. Thompson was AWO’s first President, serving from 1944 to 1957.

interim period between the two World Wars,’” Allegretti explains. “They knew from recent experience that the absence of that representation didn’t serve them well.” After incorporating, AWO held its first meeting on May 26, 1944, in St. Louis, Missouri. At that meeting, the association approved the Constitution and By-Laws and instituted a $25 annual membership fee. By June, the Board of Directors was elected and included Chairman Henry F. DeBardeleben, President of Coyle Lines Inc.; President Chester C. Thompson, President and Chairman of Inland Waterways

Members of the Brent family at the building of the M/V Betty Brent for Greenville Towing Company in 1949. From left to right: Howard Brent, Captain Bilbo Williamson, Captain Jesse Brent, unknown, Porter King, George Brent, Lea Brent, unknown, Bill Williamson.

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

Corporation and a former member of

The Ladder of Economic Success “This is not a five-day-a-week job,” George Foster says. “This river runs twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. All the waterways do. And it’s one of those things that either you love

the House of Representatives from Illinois’s 14th District; Secretary John H. Eisenhart Jr., a Washington, DC, attorney; and Acting Treasurer

it, or you don’t love it. It gets in your blood.”

A. C. Ingersoll of the Central Barge

For those who are passionate about working on the water,

President of Federal Barge Lines Inc.

the domestic maritime industry is an excellent career choice,

They set about organizing the regions

offering a true ladder of economic opportunity for American men and women. “A young man or young woman can go to work after high school on one of the tugboats, and if they apply themselves, there’s a progression. You start as a deckhand, and then you might become a tankerman, and then you might be a steersman. There’s a progression that ultimately leads to the

Company, who later would become

of the association and prioritizing its efforts, from boosting membership to gathering data and research that could be taken before various committees of Congress in support of the industry.

captain of the vessel,” Tom Allegretti says. “That kid at 18 can

At that time, the American

be in the wheelhouse driving the vessel at 25. And by the time

Waterways Operators represented

you’re in the wheelhouse, you’re making more than $100,000 a year.” Of course, the progression continues as long as the individual remains in the industry. According to Allegretti, if someone

member companies that traversed inland rivers, intracoastal canals, bays, sounds, and harbors. A majority of those companies were small

stays for the first seven years, there’s a very good chance that

mom-and-pop entities that often saw

he or she will be in the industry for their entire career. And while

generations of family members take

the various positions moving up the ladder can be laborious

active roles in their management.

and demanding, they provide opportunities that jobs in many other industries simply cannot match, allowing people to make an excellent living doing work that makes a true difference for the country.

AWO’s staff, which was headquartered in Washington, DC, worked directly with those companies and spent the first several years finding ways to “tell the story of water transportation in all its phases, as well as oppose legislation detrimental to the membership and industry,” according to early annual reports. However, it soon became clear that, to be truly effective, the association would need to look beyond the inland waterways alone. “There was a recognition of the need to expand the tent and think of ourselves as a national industry. AWO was started by inland river folks, but they recognized that in

CHAPTER TWO ADVOCACY: THE LONG HAUL

order to be effective advocates for the industry, they had to have a bigger

More than 38,000

vision,” notes Jennifer A. Carpenter,

mariners work on

AWO Executive Vice President and COO. “It was forward-thinking to realize that a tremendous strength of

American towing vessels throughout the country.

this industry is its nationwide scope and also to recognize that, if they wanted to make that strength work, they had to go out and harness it. They said, ‘We’ve got to connect the dots.’ So they enlarged the community, and that enlarged our clout, as well as our ability to get things done as an advocacy organization.” Brown Water Meets Blue Water For its first decades, AWO focused on representing “brown water” companies that worked along the approximately 12,000 miles of commercially active inland and intracoastal waterways, from the Mississippi River to the Tennessee River to the Ohio River. But as the association grew, it realized the importance of bringing “blue water” companies that worked the navigation lanes and ports along America’s coasts into the fold.

AWO members meeting in 1952 in the Blue Room of the Roosevelt in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Left to right) Jesse Brent, J. W. Banta, John Mead, Wally Taylor, Jack Neilson, Bob LeBlanc, Gilder McCool, Henry LeFabvre, Paul Wabnig, George McCall, Ed O’Donnell, Bob Meyer, Captain Donahue, Captain Scott Chotin, Melton Garrett, Bilbo Williamson.

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

“It was slow growth,”

The tugboat, towboat, and barge

Allegretti says. “AWO started

industry operates more than

with a nucleus of members

5,500 towing vessels and over 31,000 dry and liquid barges.

largely concentrated on the river system. The 1950s and the early 1960s were about growth on the rivers, and

that came from members going out and evangelizing to those who didn’t belong to AWO and saying, ‘You need to belong. This is important.’ Then the late ’60s and ’70s were about growth on the coasts, especially the Gulf Coast and the Atlantic Coast.” Much of this expansion effort was spearheaded by Braxton B. Carr, who held the AWO presidency from 1957 to 1972 and previously was Executive Vice President of the Warrior-Tombigbee Development Association. For years, as he and AWO members focused on an array of national legislative activity, he always kept the goal of broadening the association’s footprint at the forefront of his mind, recognizing that it would help strengthen the industry and allow AWO to be more effective. While many of the companies along the coasts belonged to regional trade associations, AWO members worked to convince coastal operators to join together in a national effort for the good of the industry as a whole. By 1969, Carr could report the positive results from the members’ efforts. In fact, in 1971, he wrote in AWO’s annual report, “One of the encouraging things in the life of AWO in 1971 was the addition of 28 new members, bringing the total membership to 237 companies, the largest membership in the history of the Association. The expansion of the membership gives the Association a broader base from which to work, thereby increasing its influence.” Peter Brix of the Knappton Towboat Company, who served as AWO Board Braxton B. Carr

Chairman in 1970, explains, “It was important because we wanted to have one voice. We didn’t want to have one group telling regulators and legislators one thing and another group telling them something different. It was better to have one voice. And it was a long process to bring everyone together.” Carpenter adds, “Then-current members had to form alliances with folks who were in the same business, but, at the time, they probably thought of themselves as being in almost different businesses. It was about relationship-building and saying, ‘Our commonalities are much more significant than our differences. We may have different ways of moving barges for the operational environments that we’re in, but there’s more that connects us than separates us.’” In 1983, a new AWO President, Joseph A. Farrell III, decided to take the blue water expansion effort to the next level by approaching companies that worked in the Pacific region. It was a challenging proposition, however, as the country had plunged into a major recession and the domestic maritime

CHAPTER ONE THE AWO COMMUNITY: AT THE HELM

industry had suffered a huge hit as a result. Companies were closing at a startling rate, and consolidation was becoming more prevalent than ever. “The whole complexion of the tug and barge industry changed,” explains James H. Sanborn, former President of Sonat Marine Inc. and AWO Chairman in 1985. “It went from a lot of small, mom-and-pop,

AWO PRESIDENTS Chester C. Thompson, 1944–1957 Braxton B. Carr, 1957–1972 James R. Smith, 1972–1977 Anthony L. Kucera (Acting), 1977–1979 James B. Potter Jr., 1979–1980 Anthony L. Kucera, 1980–1983 Joseph A. Farrell, 1983–1994 Thomas A. Allegretti, 1994–

nonpublic companies and private carriers, in a short period of time, to having some very big companies, the likes of Kirby Corporation and American Commercial Barge Line.”

Senator Warren Magnuson of Washington, Chairman of the Senate Interstate and Foreign Commerce Committee, accepts from A. C. Ingersoll, Jr., President of Federal Barge Lines, Inc., and Chairman of the Board of Directors of The American Waterways Operators, a model of the towboat Lachlan Macleay for display at the committee hearing rooms. (From left to right) Senator Frank J. Lausche, of Ohio, Senator George A. Smathers, of Florida, A. C. Ingersoll, Jr., Donald Macleay, a Washington attorney and son of the late Mississippi Valley Association President for whom the boat was named, Senator Warren Magnuson, and Braxton B. Carr, President of AWO.

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

CHAPTER ONE THE AWO COMMUNITY: AT THE HELM

Fa r r e l l a n d t h e leadership

the

A 15-barge tow can haul 26,250

association had to shift

tons of dry cargo; to move the same

gears. In the 1983 AWO

amount of dry cargo, it would take 216

annual report, Farrell wrote, “This has been

rail cars or 1,050 tractor trailers.

a trying year for your association. The American economy—indeed, the economy of the entire free world— continued to sink, pulling the American waterborne commerce industry down with it. The decline in shipments, the steepest in half a century, resulted in over a third of our industry’s equipment lying idle. Companies failed, workers were laid off, and severe financial losses were commonplace. For AWO, membership declined.” The economic depression continued unabated for several years. Farrell worked diligently to keep AWO afloat, even as membership continued to decline. He cut costs. He cut staff. And he waited until the economy began to turn around. Then, by 1986, things finally began to change, and Farrell was able to rehire and build a new AWO staff. As he wrote to members, “This year will long be remembered as a watershed in your Association’s modern times. Perhaps 1986 will be seen as the greatest turnaround since AWO’s founding. . . . Not surprising, net membership income for the year is up, the first time that has happened in many years. The most prominent advance took place in the Pacific Region, which saw a fivefold increase in

A social gathering hosted by AWO member Jesse Brent, was attended by a delegation of local judges and elected officials. Standing: (left to right) Judge Orma Smith, Judge William Keady, Attorney General A. F. Sumner, Judge Walter Nixon, William Witner, Judge Dan Russell. Seated: Judge J. P. Coleman, Richard Kleindeinst, Senator Jim Eastland, Governor Bill Waller, and Jesse Brent, the host.

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

A Perfect Partnership In its earliest years, AWO focused on advocating for

who forged the partnership between AWO and the

the brown water vessels traversing the Mississippi,

New York Harbor and Tug Carriers association, to the

Tennessee and Ohio rivers. However, the association

benefit of both,” said AWO President Tom Allegretti.

understood that other geographic areas needed the

“His commitment to the advancement of the tugboat

same type of representation, particularly to the north

and barge industry was steadfast throughout his life.”

in New York and New Jersey. In fact, in the early 1900s, the Hudson and East rivers saw a great deal of activity,

As AWO President Chester C. Thompson wrote

with vessels of all sizes pulling into ports throughout

on February 15, 1951, “The New York Office of the

the area. As that activity ramped up, two organizations

Association began to function on July 1, 1950, under

were created: the New York Towboat Exchange, Inc.,

an arrangement consummated with the New York

which represented nearly three dozen independent

Towboat Exchange Inc. and the Harbor Carriers of the

towboat companies, and the Harbor Carriers of the

Port of New York—both fine organizations that have

Port of New York, which served carriers that were

been serving tug and barge operators in the New York

corporate members of the Maritime Association of the

area very successfully for a long period of years. This

Port of New York and New Jersey. These operators

pooling of efforts in the important New York–North

had a keen understanding of the way the industry

Atlantic Area has done much to solidify the ‘shallow-

worked in that region, and AWO aimed to partner with

draft’ industry, and the benefits for all phases of

both organizations to pool their collective efforts and

domestic water transportation and its related services

ensure that all maritime companies were represented

are already evident.”

in a cohesive way. The thriving partnership laid the groundwork for In the summer of 1950, that goal, spearheaded by

additional companies to be brought into the AWO

industry leader Harold Reinauer, Chief Executive for

fold over time, as operators nationwide could see

Reinauer Transportation Company and son of oil

the benefits of industry members joining forces to

transport industry magnate Albert H. Reinauer, came to

advocate for themselves and their colleagues. With

fruition. The three organizations created a partnership

one streamlined organization serving and supporting

that resulted in the establishment of AWO’s Region

the industry as a whole, member companies enjoyed

5, the New York–North Atlantic Area, and an AWO

more influence and success.

New York office. “Harold was the industry leader

CHAPTER ONE THE AWO COMMUNITY: AT THE HELM

members and the attendant opening of a Regional Office in Seattle to better serve member needs in the Region. People will always make the investment when they have confidence that the return will be high. The long litany of AWO’s achievements has built that confidence.” All for One By the early 1990s, AWO could truly be seen

Towing vessels and

as a national organization, covering waterways

barges move more than

from coast to coast. Today, the association boasts more than 330 member companies, with over 200 carrier members and more

760 million tons of cargo annually.

than 120 affiliate members. Carrier members, Allegretti notes, range in both size and scope, from small, family-owned operators to large corporations. Some smaller members work strictly within their specific regions, while a number of larger members have a national footprint with operations that span the country. Yet what truly sets the association apart is that every member, regardless of size or geographic reach, has one vote and the same opportunity to shape AWO’s efforts and direction as it tackles the myriad challenges facing the industry on an ongoing basis. From seats on the 61-member Board of Directors and the 17-member Executive Committee to opportunities to serve on committees, working groups, and task forces that address public policy and safety, all AWO members have the chance to be part of the conversation. “AWO

members

range

from

the

smallest in the business to the largest in the business. We have companies with one or

AWO EARLY MEMBERS

two towing vessels, and we have the biggest

AWO has been blessed to enjoy a deep and loyal commitment

companies in the industry,” Carpenter

from its membership throughout its history. The following

explains. “And I think what is really positive

companies are distinguished in that regard, having been members

about AWO is that both small and large companies have recognized the mutual benefit of being part of this organization. We are this interconnected industry, and there are governance processes that give people comfort that different perspectives are represented.” What’s more, the members of AWO are at the center of all activities performed by the association. They are active participants who collaborate with the staff of the organization as they work to advance the

of AWO since its very earliest days:

American Commercial Barge Line ARCOSA Marine Products Campbell Transportation Company Canal Barge Company Crounse Corporation Hughes Bros. Ingram Barge Company Kirby Corporation Marathon Petroleum Corporation McAllister Towing Moran Towing Corporation Parker Towing Company 11

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

causes that are key to the success of the industry. “AWO is not just the 30 staff members. Of course, they are a key part of it and a key tool, but AWO is the 50,000 people who work directly for the member companies. And it’s the 300,000 people who work in the industry in tangential jobs. That’s what AWO is,” says Scott Merritt, former COO of Foss Maritime Company LLC and AWO Board Chairman for 2019. “It’s people trying to get better every day, trying to make a safer environment for their workers so they can go home to their families. It’s people trying to make a secure maritime infrastructure so that we can move things safely and without risk of terrorism or environmental impact or disaster. It’s people trying to work in concert with our partners in regulatory agencies like the United States Coast Guard and the EPA, and the legislatures, both federal and state, to make a better, more efficient system that achieves the goals of safety, environmental sensitivity, and security.”

Allegretti agrees, adding, “In smart associations, staff recognize that you’re an employee. You don’t own it. Members own it. It’s their organization. You’ve been entrusted with the responsibility for running it and making it successful. But at the end of the day, members own it. The collaboration of members and staff is really one of the most powerful things you can do because you’re taking two distinct strengths: one is inside-the-beltway knowledge about how things get done in Washington, but then you are also taking the knowledge of your members about how to operate a barge or boat company. When you put those two things together, it’s a really powerful combination of expertise that allows you to get important things done.” 12

CHAPTER ONE THE AWO COMMUNITY: AT THE HELM A military helicopter is being loaded onto a barge owned by New Jersey-based Hughes Bros., Inc. in the 1950s.

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75 C H A P T E R

T W O

ADVOCACY The Long Haul When Tom Marian, General Counsel for Buffalo Marine Service Inc. and AWO’s 2018 Board Chairman, goes to Washington, DC, he often has a particular thought. He recalls a political cartoon from the Civil War era. The image shows voters bounding through the hallways of Congress; there’s a bit of chaos as farmers and their animals trek through the hallowed buildings to talk to their elected officials.

It’s a rather accurate representation of how things were in the past, when individuals had direct access to the people whom they chose to represent them in the government. The concept behind the cartoon is what AWO embraces, as it strives to provide a way for members to meet and connect with the lawmakers who make vital decisions that impact the domestic maritime industry. “The AWO staff are the ones who facilitate our ability to walk into an elected official’s office and explain to them what our needs are, why certain initiatives are important to us, and why certain undertakings may undermine what we’re doing,” Marian notes. “It’s very illuminating because it allows you to have a candid conversation with that elected official about what you do and why you do it. And when they understand that, they become much more genuine advocates with respect to our causes.” 15 15

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

It is important that the industry be fully aware of the specific challenges it faces so that members and staff have a chance to address them properly when meeting with elected officials. “AWO has allowed us to remain much better informed about actual or pending legislation or regulations,” says Edward J. “Ted” Tregurtha, President of Moran Towing Corporation and AWO Chairman in 2017. “Our knowledge of these events, combined with AWO’s leadership, have allowed us and our industry to be more effective advocates in the legislative and regulatory arenas.” The association does this by taking a very strategic approach to its advocacy efforts and identifying the industry’s most pertinent issues on a regular basis. “We can’t take a scattershot approach. We have to try to be not only the most effective advocates we can for our members, but also the best stewards of member resources,” Jennifer Carpenter asserts. “I would say the key strategic approach that we take has been really good member governance and really clear prioritization. On a variety of levels, we work with our members to make sure we understand their priorities.” On the Hill Every day, as thousands of towing vessels and barges move along America’s waterways, 535 individuals in Washington, DC, make decisions that can have long-lasting effects on an entire industry. From Capitol Hill, lawmakers have the ability to cast their votes for legislation that potentially can be detrimental to an industry about which they may know very little. With that in mind, AWO works tirelessly to educate members of Congress about the towing industry and what it means to the nation. And while the association is dealing with political players, it Thomas A. Allegretti

remains above the political fray. “We’re bipartisan. We have spent many, many years building friendships on both sides of the aisle,” Allegretti says. “It doesn’t matter to us if someone is Republican or Democrat. If they support our industry, then they’re our friends and we support them. And we have strong friends all the way from very liberal, progressive Democratic members of the House to very conservative members of the Senate.” That bipartisan approach is essential, and it ensures that AWO is consistent as it strives to educate all members of Congress—regardless of their political affiliation—about the tugboat, towboat, and barge industry’s critical role in America’s economy and security. “We need to make sure that members of Congress and the federal and state decisionmakers who influence our industry know who we are, what we do, and why it’s important,” Carpenter explains. “We can’t expect every man, woman, and child to know about the barge industry, but we need

CHAPTER TWO ADVOCACY: THE LONG HAUL

A Creative Connection For AWO, storytelling is a key tool when it comes to advocacy. “One of our greatest strengths is this diverse, interesting, geographically far-flung industry,” Jennifer Carpenter asserts. “When we are on Capitol Hill with our member companies and they are able to tell the story of what they do and how government actions, or the lack of government actions, affect them, it just really resonates.” And the association has found two very unique ways to showcase the story of the industry. One way is via the annual AWO Barge-In. For the last 15 years, AWO has descended upon Capitol Hill in April with upward of 200 members ready to tell the industry’s story directly to lawmakers. The event, which is one of the highlights of the association’s Spring Convention, is a one-day opportunity for individual members to meet with congressional representatives one-on-one to discuss the issues that are most important to the industry. Carpenter explains, “We fan out for a day of meetings, and we introduce ourselves to legislators, and we talk about our industry’s priorities. You’ve got to make sure you’re getting your voice heard in the most effective way.” Another way to tell AWO’s story is with tugboat and towboat tours. The brainchild of Lynn Muench, Senior Vice President—Regional Advocacy, tugboat and towboat tours put congressional staffers on the boats and on the water. Inspired by her own first experience on a tugboat, Muench realized the best way to have people to understand the industry is to show them how it works—which means getting stakeholders on boats throughout the country. “For our biggest tours, we invite all the offices that are within driving distance. We have the legislators on the vessel for two to three hours, and we get them out on the river or out on the coast. Then we talk about the industry and key issues that are facing us. It’s done in a bipartisan way because that’s the only way that makes sense. We usually have folks who are not from the same party, but it’s interesting because, getting them out there, they realize how much they really agree on,” Muench says. “And what they see on that vessel is the professionalism of the mariners, the type of training they have to go through, how serious they are about safety issues and environmental issues, and how they conduct themselves on the vessel. It’s really about getting them out there so they can see how intricate the towboat and tugboat industry is and how it is connected to the economic viability of that region.”

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

to make sure that the people who are making decisions about the public policy of our country understand so that they are making decisions that enable the industry to continue to do this important work.” AWO’s education effort is a continuous one. There are many important issues, some with national reach and some that are regionally focused, some short-term challenges and others that endure or recur over many years. In fact, there are some issues on which AWO has worked for decades, and the work continues to this day. The Jones Act Section 27 of the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, also known as the Jones Act, has been one of AWO’s highest advocacy priorities since the organization’s founding in 1944. The act states that vessels moving cargo between points in the United States must fly the U.S. flag, have been constructed in the United States, and be owned and crewed by U.S. citizens. Today, members of the tugboat, towboat, and barge industry comprise the largest segment of the Jones Act fleet. And the act applies not only to vessels traversing the country’s waterways but also to other key components that make up the American maritime industry, from shipyards and dredgers to equipment manufacturers and others. “The Jones Act is the foundational law for our industry,” Allegretti says. “If it weren’t there, all of the other things we do wouldn’t matter because we wouldn’t have an American industry.”

CHAPTER TWO ADVOCACY: THE LONG HAUL

The act helps to fuel the American economy and serves as a cornerstone of homeland and national security. Yet, over the years, the Jones Act has faced numerous challenges from opponents who are determined to erode the strong

Advocacy for All AWO does many things well, but key among them is listening to its members. George Foster, who owns St. Louis–based JB Marine Service Inc., learned this when he attended the 2007 national meeting and sat in on a Harbor Services Sector Committee session one day. “I sat there,

congressional support for the law by

and all they talked about was blue water, ocean tugs, and

claiming that the law is “archaic” and

so forth,” he recalls. So he approached Royce C. Wilken,

asserting that foreign participation in the domestic maritime trade should be permitted, even though doing so would harm American economic, national, and homeland security.

then President of the American River Transport Company and AWO Chairman of the Board. “I went up to him and said, ‘Royce, we’ve got a real issue here. There’s a huge segment of inland harbor operators—up the Ohio River, the Tennessee River, the upper Mississippi River, the Illinois River—and there’s no representation whatsoever.’ And

AWO has successfully countered

he said, ‘Well, George, you’re right. I’ll take it back to the

these efforts by tirelessly educating

Executive Committee.’”

policymakers across the political spectrum,

including

through

testimony before congressional committees, on the foundational importance of the Jones Act.

Not long after, Wilken called Foster to inform him of a major change to the Harbor Services Sector Committee: every two years, the Chairman of the committee would switch between a blue water and a brown water member, ensuring that each sector received appropriate

When anti–Jones Act activity

representation. Foster was thrilled and soon received even

ramped up in the 1990s, AWO and

more interesting news when Wilken said to him, “Oh, by

an array of other domestic maritime organizations founded the American Maritime Partnership. “AWO and all of these other groups were working on these issues without a lot of

the way, congratulations, Mr. Chairman.” Foster accepted and spent the next two years working on a variety of issues that were important to the inland harbor services sector, including licensing and permitting. He concludes, “I don’t think anyone ever addressed it prior to me, but I just thought it was important for the organization to recognize that

coordination. None of the individual

there was a whole segment that wasn’t being represented.

organizations had enough influence

So I pushed hard for it. And we were able to accomplish

on their own to win all of the debates.

quite a few things.”

Only by coming together were we able to leverage all of the strengths of the different organizations to make ourselves much stronger,” Allegretti recalls. “We’ve had many issues that we’ve worked on over the last 75 years, and many of them have been important, but not in the way the Jones Act is. It’s the most important 19

The Chairmen of the Board of the American Waterways Operators THEDistinguished REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

Name Company Henry F. DeBardeleben Coyle Lines Alex W. Dann Union Barge Line Munger T. Ball Sabine Towing and Transportation A.M. Thompson Mississippi Valley Barge Line V.A. Kogge Marquette Cement Manufacturing Company A.C. Ingersoll, Jr. Federal Barge Lines David A. Wright National Marine Service Robert L. Gray Ashland Oil and Refining Company Bailey T. DeBardeleben Coyle Lines Jesse E. Brent Brent Towing Company M.F. Spellacy Humble Oil and Refining Company F.A. Mechling A.L. Mechling Barge Lines Gresham Houghland Hougland Barge Line Robert L. Bryant The Dow Chemical Company Neville Stone Crounse Corporation G.W. Gladders G.W. Gladders Towing Company George H. Blohm Cities Service Tankers Corporation Peter J. Brix Knappton Towboat Company William C. McNeal Oil Transport Company H.G. Noland Union Carbide Corporation Robert J. Hughes James Hughes, Inc. H.G. Williams Gulf Atlantic Transport Corporation L.P. Struble, Jr. Dravo Corporation John D. Geary Midland Enterprises Frank T. Stegbauer Southern Towing Company Ralph W. Hooper Interstate and Ocean Transport Company William A. Creelman National Marine Service John M. Donnelly, Jr. Ingram Barge Company R.E. Van Der Naillen Cargo Carriers Thomas L. Gladders G.W. Gladders Towing Company Archie L. Wilson Dixie Carriers William A. Creelman National Marine Service James H. Sanborn Sonat Marine C. Berdon Lawrence Hollywood Marine Arthur M. Knight Reinauer Companies J.A. Tinkey Mid-America Transportation Company R.A. Guthans Midstream Fuel Service Alois Luhr Luhr Bros. Donald Duffy Foss Maritime Company Clinton B. Odell Cargo Carriers Michael C. Hagan American Commercial Lines Gregory F. McGinty Turecamo Maritime Ronald C. Dansby Kirby Inland Marine Charles Nalen Crowley Marine Service Fred Raskin Midland Enterprises William Waterman Penn Maritime Christopher Parsonage MEMCO Barge Line Steven T. Scalzo Foss Maritime Company Craig E. Philip Ingram Barge Company Edmond J. Moran, Jr. Moran Towing Company Steven P. Valerius Kirby Inland Marine, LP Dale Sause Sause Bros. Royce C. Wilken American River Transportation Co. H. Merritt Lane, III Canal Barge Company, Inc. Timothy J. Casey K-Sea Transportation Corp. George P. Foster JB Marine Service, Inc. Peter H. Stephaich Campbell Transportation Company, Inc. Charles Linn Peterson Kirby Inland Marine, LP Brian Buckley McAllister McAllister Towing Franklin Morton Turn Services, LLC David G. Sehrt Ingram Barge Company James F. Farley Kirby Marine Edward Tregurtha Moran Towing Corporation Thomas P. Marian Buffalo Marine Service, Inc. Scott Merritt Foss Maritime Company

Year 1944-1947 1948-1950 1951-1952 1953-1954 1955-1957 1958 1959 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987-1988 1989 1990 1991 1992-1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019

CHAPTER TWO ADVOCACY: THE LONG HAUL

thing we do, and we never lose sight of that. We always advocate for the Jones Act because it defines who we are.” User Fees One of the key reasons the American Waterways Operators came together in the early 1940s was to oppose the imposition of harmful user fees on companies that carried cargo on the country’s inland rivers. Starting in the 1930s and through the 1970s, waterways operators were facing a heightened effort by user fee proponents, which they were fortunately able to turn back. Some attribute the effort to tax those vessels to the railroads, which were in direct competition with the towboat and barge industry. Ultimately, the railroad and towing industries developed a good working relationship, and today they work together to move cargo seamlessly throughout the country. However, the effort to impose user fees on towing vessels traversing the inland waterway system was a sustained one that was prosecuted for almost 50 years.

AWO President Joe Farrell (middle) testifying at a congressional hearing.

Peter Brix, Chairman in 1970, remembers the gravity of this issue for AWO members in the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s. He recalls the serious concern that AWO members had with the potential that these fees would make the industry uncompetitive and that they would never find their way to funding the modernization of the waterways system. Brix said this about the campaign to enact user fees during his time in the leadership of AWO: “When Jimmy Carter was President, they wanted to see a big increase in user fees. Fortunately, the Chairman of the House Ways and Means Committee, Al Ullman, asked me to meet him to figure out what we could afford and what we could stand.” Jim Sanborn, who chaired AWO in 1985, noted the substantial advocacy campaign that AWO members mounted to stop harmful fees from being imposed on the industry. He says, “It was imperative that we 21

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

demonstrate that the user fees would be detrimental to our economic health. Fortunately, a lot of AWOâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s individual members know their legislators well and had an open door to them. AWO mustered the owners to engage with those representatives.â&#x20AC;? The relationships that AWO members had with members of Congress, and the knowledge those members had about the importance of the industry, were instrumental to the eventual establishment of user fees that were affordable for the industry and which would be earmarked for the modernization of the inland waterways system. The establishment of the first inland waterways users fee took place in 1978 when the Inland Waterways Revenue Act was passed and created the Inland Waterways Trust Fund. When it became apparent that this initial fee would not be sufficient to allow for full modernization of the inland waterways system, the industry stepped forward in 1986 and struck a deal with The M/V Delta of Cooper Marine and Timberland pushing a barge loaded with utility vehicles to assist with hurricane recovery efforts in Puerto Rico.

President Ronald Reagan to increase the fee to ensure system modernization. Through the leadership of Chairmen like Peter Brix and Jim Sanborn, what began as a major threat to the industry was resolved to the benefit of both the industry and the nation. continued on page 27

CHAPTER TWO ADVOCACY: THE LONG HAUL

Photo by Jonathan Atkin.

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

CHAPTER TWO ADVOCACY: THE LONG HAUL continued from page 22

The fee established in 1986 would stay in place for three decades. Over that time, the cost of the modernization projects kept increasing but the money going into the trust fund did not keep pace with those increases. Allegretti notes, “We found ourselves with insufficient money in the trust fund to do the work that we felt needed to be done.” In 2016, under the leadership of the Waterways Council Inc., the industry did something quite unusual once again: it actually suggested an increase to the user fees, which was implemented as part of the Water Resources Development Act. “We as an industry went to the government and said, ‘We’ll pay more if you’ll agree to use the money that we’re going to give you to modernize these locks and dams, which are in woeful need,’” Allegretti says. “And so a deal was cut to raise the fee almost 50 percent because we felt it was needed in order to keep the system viable.” He continues, “That’s a characteristic of this industry. We try to be practical about things, and when we think that something needs to be done, even if it’s not to our immediate

Coalition Partners AWO has believed deeply, throughout its history, in the value and effectiveness of coalitions to advance sound public policy. We are proud to recognize the following organizations as strong, continuing partners in the quest to strengthen America’s domestic transportation industry: American Association of Port Authorities

Lake Carriers’ Association

American Bureau of Shipping

Louisiana Association of Waterway Operators and Shipyards

American Chemistry Council

Marine Engineers’ Beneficial Association

American Maritime Congress

National Mining Association

American Maritime Officers

National Safety Council

American Maritime Partnership

National Waterways Conference

American Petroleum Institute

Northwest Marine Trade Association

American Pilots’ Association

Offshore Marine Service Association

American Salvage Association

Pacific Merchant Shipping Association

American Trucking Associations

Pacific Northwest Waterways Association

Associated Federal Pilots and Docking Masters of Louisiana

Passenger Vessel Association

Association of American Railroads

Seafarers International Union

Atlantic Intracoastal Waterway Association

Seamen’s Church Institute

Chamber of Shipping America

Shipbuilders Council of America

Coast Guard Foundation

Texas Waterways Operators Association

Columbia River Steamship Operators’ Association

Towboat and Harbor Carriers Association Port of NY/NJ

Council of Marine Carriers

Transportation Institute

Cruise Lines International Association

U.S. Chamber of Commerce

Dredging Contractors of America

Unlock Our Jobs

Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association

Warrior-Tombigbee Waterway Association

Inland Rivers, Ports & Terminals

Washington Maritime Federation

International Organization of Masters, Mates & Pilots

Waterways Council

INTERTANKO

World Shipping Council

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

economic advantage, we will recommend it if it will benefit the industry’s bottom line over the long haul.” Advocacy Across the Board AWO’s advocacy efforts go far beyond those central issues that have been at the forefront of the association since its earliest days. Lynn M. Muench, AWO Senior Vice President in charge of regional advocacy, notes that the organization places great emphasis on working with federal agencies like the U.S. Coast Guard, the Army Corps of Engineers, the Environmental Protection Agency, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service on issues that impact the various regions it represents, in addition to meeting with congressional leaders about the specific concerns within those geographic areas. “The people who work on the rivers are very focused on infrastructure, on the locks and the dams and making sure that they’re modernized; if they don’t work, the towboats don’t work. The coastal folks tend to be more focused on dredging issues to ensure that their ports are accessible. On the Gulf Coast, there’s a lot of activism around recovery and the protection of the lands, as they’re deteriorating,” she says. “So that’s a challenge—to really be able to keep up with all of the things that are hot at any given time.” To tackle that challenge, AWO’s advocacy staff in Washington, DC, works closely with the regions, forming a cohesive team that can collaborate and address issues of both regional and national import and find solutions that will benefit everyone affected

CHAPTER TWO ADVOCACY: THE LONG HAUL

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

from coast to coast. “There are laws and regulations that impact the tugboats, towboats, and barges no matter where they are,” Muench continues. “So a lot of issues really are national issues.” “Generally, issues that crop up in one place tend to crop up in other places,” Scott Merritt says. “The organization has been good at looking at regional issues, and if they have the potential to cross state lines or become national issues, then AWO can bring a common voice and a lot of support to ensure that we get that issue properly recognized and we get our side of the story across.” This approach can be seen in a number of AWO’s legislative and regulatory efforts, such as AWO’s strong advocacy for federal preemption, which ensures that the regulation of maritime transport remains under the purview of the federal government—as opposed to individual state legislatures—to provide consistency across the industry. “Interstate commerce is a constitutional issue, and it’s very clear that interstate commerce is handled by the federal government,” Marian emphasizes. AWO representatives often testify on Capitol Hill about the need to preserve federal authority over domestic maritime vessel operations. As Tom Allegretti said before the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation in March 2019,

CHAPTER TWO ADVOCACY: THE LONG HAUL

“Today, federal primacy over navigation remains just as important to interstate commerce as it was at the founding of our country.” Over the past three decades, AWO’s advocacy has also focused heavily on safety and security, a signature component of which has been the association’s 15-year partnership with the Coast Guard on the development and implementation of the “Subchapter M” towing vessel safety regulations. The groundbreaking regulations established a third-party inspection regime for towing vessels, elevating safety standards across the industry and further advancing the industry’s commitment to a true culture of safety. “Subchapter M is an AWO signature success in the advocacy area, and the benefits should be long-lasting once we get through the somewhat painful transition process,” Tregurtha says, adding that additional advocacy accomplishments in recent years have included keeping Transportation Worker Identification Credential readers off of small boats, the passage of the Vessel Incidental Discharge Act (VIDA), and numerous improvements to what would have otherwise been poorly conceived regulatory efforts. He adds, “The most important thing AWO does for our industry is creating the forum where we can pool our resources and knowledge so that we can advocate for our industry in the public policy space and share best practices in a wide variety of disciplines.”

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75 C H A P T E R

T H R E E

SAFETY All Hands on Deck On September 19, 1995, Thomas A. Allegretti and Rear Admiral James C. Card signed their names to a very significant document. The memorandum of understanding established the Quality Partnership for Marine Safety and Environmental Protection between the American Waterways Operators and the U.S. Coast Guard, which ultimately came to be known as the Coast Guard–AWO Safety Partnership.

The partnership was designed to “improve vessel and personnel safety within the barge and towing industry and enhance the protection of the environment along our nation’s waterways.” The signing was a momentous event, not only because it would forever change the way the domestic maritime industry would operate in the safety arena, but also because it represented a new chapter for two entities that—though they had spent several years working toward forging a strong and constructive relationship—historically were unaccustomed to viewing each other as partners. 33 33

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

CHAPTER THREE SAFETY: ALL HANDS ON DECK

“You had a clash of government and industry cultures that played itself out no matter the regulation with which the Coast Guard would come out,” says Allegretti of the early relationship between AWO and the Coast Guard, the main regulatory agency overseeing the towboat, tugboat, and barge industry. “On our side, you have our guys who are

running their own companies; they value their independence and have a mariner point of view that says, ‘Don’t tell me how to run my business. I’m the captain. I’m in charge,’” he explains. “On the Coast Guard side, they frankly didn’t have a lot of knowledge of our business. So, when they would come out with a proposal, we would tell them all

AWO President Tom Allegretti and U.S. Coast Guard Rear Adm. James C. Card signing the Coast Guard-AWO Safety Partnership agreement.

the reasons it was wrong. We had this regulatory process of propose, oppose, propose, oppose, which only made sure that nothing ever happened. The system was broken.” In 1989, the Exxon Valdez oil spill in Prince William Sound, Alaska, prompted AWO and its member companies to take a serious look at the industry and how it could take a proactive approach to becoming safer—including by working in coordination with the Coast Guard. While the tanker spill did not involve a tugboat or barge, the incident had implications for the entire domestic maritime industry, as it led to the passage of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. The legislation established a litany of new laws and regulations with which the industry had to contend. And as AWO sought to respond to the new directives, a second incident further solidified the association’s 35

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

desire to address safety across

Oil Spills: Safety in Numbers Through its safety initiatives, AWO shines a spotlight on the fact that the tugboat, towboat, and barge industry takes environmental protection very seriously. Starting with the Oil Pollution Act of 1990 (OPA 90) and its associated regulations,

the industry. In the Big Bayou Canot rail accident of 1993, a barge collided with a rail bridge near Mobile, Alabama, causing the Amtrak passenger train Sunset

the industry has instituted a variety of environmental safety

Limited to derail, costing the lives of

measures over the years to reduce its environmental impact,

forty-seven people. “Bayou Canot is a

particularly in the area of oil spills—and these efforts have

small tributary off the Mobile River, and

been undeniably successful. Since the enactment of OPA 90, the number of oil spills has plummeted by 99.6 percent. And by the early 2010s, more than 99.9999 percent of the oil moved by barges annually was delivered safely along America’s waterways.

it’s nonnavigable,” Allegretti says. “It was foggy and dark, and the pilot of the vessel got disoriented. Instead of going up the river, he went up this little side channel—and right up in the channel is a railroad bridge.” The barges struck the rails and pushed them out of alignment, causing the train derailment. “It’s tragic when somebody who is working on a vessel is harmed or dies, but it’s a whole different catastrophe when innocent citizens, who were simply sitting on a train to go to New Orleans, die,” he adds. “So Congress reacted as it needed to.”

This graph, from the 2017 Coast Guard–AWO Annual Safety Report, shows the oil spilled from tank barges per year through 2016, which overall has trended downward. (Note: In 2005, 1,845,526 gallons—or 95 percent—of that year’s spill volume was the result of a single incident, in which Tank Barge DBL-152 struck a hurricane-damaged, submerged offshore platform in the Gulf of Mexico.)

As AWO worked to navigate the fallout of the Big Bayou Canot accident,

including

collaborating

with Congress to shape a measured and

targeted

response,

Tom

Allegretti became President of the association. It was early 1994, after Joe Farrell’s retirement, and Allegretti’s first undertaking was to help AWO achieve its mission of creating a safer industry. He states, “The leading companies were recognizing that the cost of running their businesses was higher than it should be because accidents were more frequent than they should be. You’re dealing with the aftermath of accidents and injuries. Costs were higher because the industry wasn’t as safe as it should be. And leading people in our industry started to talk about that.” To address the issue, AWO member leaders worked together to put a new strategic plan in place that addressed not only advocacy and public affairs but also safety and environmental stewardship. “For the first time, members said that AWO 36

CHAPTER THREE SAFETY: ALL HANDS ON DECK

needs to be in the business of promoting safety and helping to develop principles and practices of safe operation for members,” Carpenter says. In addition to the development of the Responsible Carrier Program in 1994, part of that long-term plan involved approaching the Coast Guard to build on the work the two organizations had already started after the Exxon Valdez and Big Bayou Canot incidents. According to Allegretti, “The Coast Guard was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the regulations required by Congress. We looked at that and said, ‘If we just leave the Coast Guard to its own devices, they’re not going to get it right. We need to give them the operational expertise of people who are running the boats and barges on a daily basis to help with this.’ So, we went to the Commandant of the Coast Guard and made him the offer that we wanted to help him and his agency get this right. He was pretty skeptical, so we had to build trust a piece at a time to show them that we were not trying to stand in the way of the progress of these regulations, but to try and get the regulations right.”

Joseph A. Farrell III

According to Card, who had been assigned as Chief of Marine Safety for the Coast Guard in 1992, “I realized that working with the industry on common safety goals was necessary to making safety improvements.” Allegretti suggested that AWO and the Coast Guard form a partnership through which the two organizations could look at the data about the number of accidents, oil spills, and injuries that were occurring and focus their joint efforts on those areas. “We agreed that regulation was not a solution, so we talked continued on page 40

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75 continued from page 37

about working together using ‘quality principles.’” Card continues. “The joint problem-solving approach we discussed needed structure since it was new to both organizations.” Jennifer Carpenter of AWO and Ed Ziff, Senior Planner on the marine safety staff for the Coast Guard, led a team of Coast Guard and industry professionals to develop the framework for bringing the two organizations together in a formal manner, which had the full backing of AWO’s Board of Directors and U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral Robert E. Kramek. Card, who served as Vice Commandant of the Coast Guard from 1998 to 2000, adds, “AWO was very forward-thinking and responsible, and we worked together in a very positive way.” The result of the effort was the Coast Guard–AWO Safety Partnership, the first public-private partnership of its Jennifer Carpenter

kind. The partnership’s existence has allowed AWO to take its endeavors in the safety arena to a whole new level. Looking Inward: The Responsible Carrier Program Prior to the AWO launching its formal safety partnership with the Coast Guard in 1995, the association had started to do a great deal of internal work to figure out its role in

CHAPTER THREE SAFETY: ALL HANDS ON DECK

member safety. After working to ensure that new laws and regulations proposed by Congress in the wake of the Exxon Valdez disaster and the Big Bayou Canot accident were reasonable and practicable for the industry, the organization created a series of internal working groups to study safety statistics, review vessel inspection, and consider human factors associated with the safety breakdown. “We were looking at what was out there and asking, ‘What are we going to do about it? What are we doing well, and where do we have vulnerabilities? It was time to stop talking and start acting,” Carpenter asserts. Ronald C. Dansby of Kirby Inland Marine, who served as AWO Chairman in 1997, became involved in the association’s safety initiatives after the Big Bayou Canot derailment, chairing the committee that was tasked with reviewing the incident and developing a practical set of safety standards that would go above and beyond the government’s requirements. “We brought 21 industry leaders together in 1994, and we looked at all the safety practices in the industry,” Dansby recalls. “We had a lot of diversity there. You had large companies, you had small companies, you had West Coast companies, you had Atlantic Coast companies, you had the Gulf Coast and the Midwest. They all had their little nuances in their businesses, so to try and build something that was going to address all of those was challenging to say the least.

Throwing Out a Lifeline For AWO, safety on the water isn’t exclusive to tugboats, towboats, and barges. Recreational boaters who share the waterways with members of the industry also need to take responsibility in that effort. That’s why the association released the Lifelines educational brochure,

which

provides

recreational boaters with an array of safety tips. From basic tips like wearing a safety jacket at all

At the end of the day, we came

times and avoiding alcohol while

out with the Responsible

operating a boat to more detailed

Carrier Program.” According to Allegretti, the committee worked for nearly a year to develop the Responsible Carrier Program

information like how many short whistle blasts mean danger (five) and which VHF channels to listen to for information while on the water (13 and 16), Lifelines is a go-to resource for everyone who wants

(RCP), which was approved

to enjoy the country’s beautiful

on December 7, 1994. “It was

inland and coastal waterways.

very controversial back then because it was the concept of regulating yourself in the absence of the government regulating you,” he says. “It 41

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

took the leadership of some really visionary members to shepherd this through that controversy.” Dansby recalls, “The Board of Directors had to vote. We got the framework of what we were trying to accomplish, and we presented it in great depth. I have to admit, when it went up for the vote, I was a little nervous about it. But I thought we covered all of our bases pretty well. You never know until the vote is over what’s going to happen. And everybody voted for it.” The RCP’s three principal parts addressed management and administration, equipment and inspection, and human factors, and provided a safety management system based on those areas; the voluntary standards provided guidance on everything from how operators should maintain their vessels to the type of training their employees needed. AWO realized that implementation would take time, so the board set January 1, 1998, as the target date for compliance by members participating in the RCP. As an addendum to the original program, AWO formed a task force to study whether it needed a third-party audit component to ensure proper adherence to the standards; the task force recommended it, and the Board of Directors agreed. A second task force worked out the details of the audit program, which was put in place in 1995. In April 1998, AWO’s membership voted to change the Constitution and Bylaws to require that all members participate in the RCP. “We were encouraging more and more people to use the RCP standards, and we finally got to the place where we said, ‘We’re going to make this a condition of membership. If you want to be a member of AWO, you have to agree

CHAPTER THREE SAFETY: ALL HANDS ON DECK

to do this,’” Allegretti says. By January 2000, 100 percent of AWO’s carrier members were officially in compliance with the Responsible Carrier Program. The Next Step: Subchapter M The Coast Guard–AWO Safety Partnership, along with the RCP, epitomized the tugboat, towboat, and barge industry’s commitment to creating and continuously improving a culture of safety. In addition to AWO’s ongoing advocacy efforts, safety became a fundamental element of the association’s work on behalf of its member companies. And with the RCP in place, safety was improving among AWO members. “In the aftermath of the Responsible Carrier Program, the statistics went exactly in the direction we wanted them to go. There were dramatically fewer injuries, deaths, and accidents, and that was traceable directly to the thoughtful effort that put together the Responsible Carrier Program,” says Admiral James M. Loy, Commandant of the Coast Guard from 1998 to 2002. “It was one of those moments where a very serious set of issues had been dealt with constructively, and the results of it were instantly reflective and observable by not only the Coast Guard as the regulator but also by the congressional oversight committees.” However, the decline in both personal injury and environmental accidents seen among AWO members did not necessarily translate to the industry as a whole. Allegretti notes, “We continued to have an unacceptable level of accidents, and it led our leadership to say, ‘The Responsible Carrier Program was the right thing to do, but it will never fix our problem because it doesn’t apply to everybody. It only applies to AWO members, and you have dozens of other companies out there that are not members.’” Craig E. Philip, former CEO of Ingram Barge Company and AWO Chairman in 2003, adds, “Industry leaders rallied around the creation of the Responsible Carrier Program. But, by the end of the 20th century, many of us came to believe that it was a vulnerable platform to enter the 21st century with and that we were one significant accident away from completely losing control of our operational destiny at the hands of a knee-jerk legislative remedy from Congress.” Allegretti adds, “That 43

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

caused us to go to the Commandant of the Coast Guard again and say, ‘We would like to take the next step. What we need is a federal regulation that applies to everybody that owns a tugboat or a towboat.’” The idea of approaching the government to create a formal regulation for the industry began to percolate in 2002. According to Steve Scalzo, former COO of Foss Maritime Company and AWO Chairman that year, “During my tenure with AWO, the biggest item at the time was the development of what became known as Subchapter M. Members wanted to see improvement, and they wanted to have a system in place that could further enhance the safety and the quality of operations.” AWO compiled a white paper about what it wanted Subchapter M to be and, in 2003, began a discussion with the Coast Guard and Congress to figure out how to craft a bill that would allow for a regulatory scheme based on a safety management system. “We concluded that such a path forward was possible and began an exhaustive yearlong outreach to socialize the idea with what I would describe as a skeptical membership,” recalls Philip, who assumed the role of AWO Chairman in 2003. “I had the gavel in hand when we called for the membership vote authorizing the leadership and staff to proceed to engage with Congress to insert language into legislation directing the Coast Guard to establish an inspection regime for towboats. It wasn’t unanimous, and several large members opposed it, but it passed, and incorporation of the legislative language happened just as we hoped it would.” The Coast Guard and Maritime Transportation Act passed in 2004, and AWO subsequently set out on a nearly 15-year journey to work with the Coast Guard to carefully and strategically craft the formal safety regulations in a way that would benefit everyone involved. The two organizations collaborated via the Towing Safety Advisory Committee, and the final Subchapter M rule presented by the Coast Guard was published on June 20, 2016, taking full effect on July 20, 2018. Subchapter M requires all towing vessels to have a Certificate of Inspection from the Coast Guard in order to operate. One option for achieving compliance involves the use of a Towing Safety Management System (TSMS) audited by a Coast Guard–approved third party on a regular basis. The Responsible Carrier Program was approved by the Coast Guard as an existing safety management system under Subchapter M, an important step in facilitating compliance by AWO members. In many ways, Subchapter M, and specifically the TSMS option, is an outgrowth of the work done by AWO members to improve safety beginning with the development of the Responsible Carrier Program in 1994. 44

CHAPTER THREE SAFETY: ALL HANDS ON DECK

“It certainly took longer than any of us had ever anticipated it would take,” Scalzo observes. “But what is important is that the commitment remained. AWO had a strong commitment from members who continued to push through all of the issues. The members were the heart and soul of it.” Allegretti agrees, stating, “It was a very long process. Even when you have government and industry agreeing on the goal, agreeing on the details of how to achieve the goal is a process that’s long, complex, and slow.” However, with so much on the line, AWO realized that it had to be a trailblazer for the entire industry. “The lesson of Subchapter M is that when you know as an industry that something’s not right, that something could be better, and you know that not fixing it puts lives at risk, puts the environment at risk, puts your workers at risk, then you should take independent action to fix it and be courageous in doing that,” Allegretti says. “Whatever agency of government is regulating you, as the industry, you know more about what you do than any federal regulator could. They have never worked in your industry. You have the expertise about your industry that is valuable, and you can best develop solutions to the problems of safety. The implementation of Subchapter M is a milestone to be celebrated.”

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75 C H A P T E R

F O U R

SECURITY Batten Down the Hatches Since its enactment, the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, better known as the Jones Act, has been a bedrock of national and homeland security. “The Jones Act is at the forefront of protecting our nation’s security,” Ted Tregurtha says. “Our military leaders all acknowledge the importance of a strong domestic maritime industry to our national security interests.”

The law also ensures that America has the capacity to engage in vital military shipbuilding whenever necessary. Additionally, the country’s waterways enjoy a high level of security, thanks to the Jones Act. According to Rear Admiral Dave Callahan of the U.S. Coast Guard (Ret.), “The maritime towing industry plays a very large role in the maritime security of the United States. When you consider the size of this industry and their presence on the water, their eyes and ears and their connection with security entities like the United States Coast Guard are critical. They know when something’s out of the ordinary on the waterways, and they

47 47 47

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

CHAPTER FOUR SECURITY: BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES

report it.” In fact, with over 95,000 miles of shoreline and 25,000 miles of inland waterways, these mariners are a force-multiplier that allows the Coast Guard to focus its efforts more effectively. The 9/11 Boat Lift When the unthinkable happened on September 11, 2001, AWO realized that its role in the security of the country would have to change overnight. On that fateful day, the towing industry focused on one thing only: rescuing the thousands of people who had fled south from the Twin Towers and were trapped on the island of Manhattan. According to U.S. Coast Guard Commandant Admiral James Loy, the Coast Guard Captain of the Port of New York at that time, sent two young officers to the harbor waterways to assess the situation. “They are the ones who issued the ‘away all boats’ call on Channel 16,” he recalls. “The result is an absolutely phenomenal story. “The maritime community—the tugboat operators, the Staten Island Ferry, anything that floated under the general direction of the Coast Guard as an organizing influence—went in for a mutual maritime rescue effort not unlike Dunkirk, when

British and French forces in World War II were evacuated from the French mainland. During Dunkirk, they took 325,000 troops off of those beaches and brought them back to England,” Loy says. “We took 500,000 people off of Manhattan that day. Half a million people. We took them to safety, which became Staten Island, New Jersey, 49

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

wherever they wanted to go. The evacuation was a classic example of maritime partners gathering and working together for a common cause and getting it done in an absolutely extraordinary fashion.” A Plan of Action As the country grappled with the 9/11 tragedy, AWO leadership immediately recognized that the transportation industry was at a crossroads and had to shift its sights to security. While airplanes were at the center of the terrorist attacks, the tugboat, towboat, and barge industry, so instrumental to the economy of the United States, was also at risk of being targeted. “It was the reality of instant recognition that the whole world had changed,” Tom Allegretti says. “We needed to look at our industry in a totally different way than we had ever looked at it before. Prior to that, a vessel was a conveyance. This barge filled with gasoline was a means of getting something from a refinery to a distribution facility so that gasoline could be taken to gas stations and people could drive their cars. Now it was, ‘What harm can be done by this barge with thousands of barrels of gasoline on it?’ People immediately connected all of those dots.” According to Jennifer Carpenter, AWO and the Coast Guard quickly came together to discuss options for moving forward in light of these new security risks. Thanks to the constructive relationship the organizations had built since partnering in 1995, they were able to hit the ground running. She explains, “We had the ability to say, ‘We’ve got a problem. We have a situation, and we need to come together and figure out how to tackle it.’” Former

CHAPTER FOUR SECURITY: BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

CHAPTER FOUR SECURITY: BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES

Rear Admiral Paul J. Pluta, who served as the Coast Guard’s Assistant Commandant for marine safety, security, and environmental protection at that time, notes, “While the 9/11 attacks targeted the aviation mode of transportation, it was apparent that all modes of transportation in our country were vulnerable to similar attacks. Our focus was on applying the basic principles of security to the maritime mode of transportation, both domestically and internationally. There were no mandatory maritime security laws or regulations in place. Our overall challenge, starting with basically a blank sheet of paper, was to negotiate a complete set of mandatory international maritime security requirements for all vessels and ports and assist in the drafting of the U.S. legislation requiring mandatory maritime security provisions for U.S. ports and vessels.” AWO and the Coast Guard, along with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, formed a working group that was tasked with outlining new protocols for maritime safety. Scott Merritt, who sat on the Northern California Maritime Security Committee for AWO, recalls these efforts following 9/11. “It was heady stuff because I don’t think up until then we really saw security in our industry as a major issue. Yet, when you realize that 90 percent of all the goods we receive from outside the United States, excluding Mexico and Canada, come in by water, the opportunity for someone to take advantage of that system to do bad is fairly significant. And I think everyone put aside their individual agendas and was able to sit down and take a look at the highest-risk areas and come up with plans to address them and put them into play.”

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

Within six months, AWO worked with the Coast Guard to produce a new maritime security plan addressing the security risks of moving potentially hazardous cargoes by barge. That was a full seven months before Congress officially passed the Maritime Transportation Security Act of 2002, which required carriers to have vessel security plans in place that would address everything from vulnerability assessments, drills and exercises, and record keeping to access control, credentialing, and vessel identification and monitoring. According to Pluta, “The outcome was vastly improved worldwide maritime security, lower vulnerability to attack, a greater peace of mind, and a significant sense of satisfaction about what can be accomplished when like-minded people focus on a common objective and work together to achieve it.”

AWO members soon recognized their unique role as the eyes and ears of the Coast Guard when they navigate the country’s inland and coastal waterways. These vessel operators and mariners can help detect if something is amiss due to their familiarity with the waterways they traverse daily. They are a force-multiplier for the agency and part of the overall effort to keep America secure, and they proudly accept that responsibility. As Allegretti concludes, “There’s an element of American identity there. We are all in this together to protect our country. It doesn’t matter if I’m the owner of the company, the Captain on the vessel, or the Coast Guard officer inspecting the vessel—we’re all in this together.”

CHAPTER FOUR SECURITY: BATTEN DOWN THE HATCHES

AWO Making Its Voice Heard, In Stereo AWO making its voice heard, in stereo, in Washington, DC. On March 6, 2019, Tom Allegretti and Jennifer Carpenter simultaneously testified before Congress. Tom testified before the Senate Commerce Committee, while Jennifer was in front of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee.

THE REACH OF OUR VISION THE AMERICAN WATERWAYS OPERATORS AT 75

AFTERWORD AWO was officially formed as the trade association to advocate on behalf of the American tugboat, towboat and barge industry 75 years ago. Since that day, AWO members have navigated many challenges and secured important achievements to advance sound public policy and establish this industry as an undeniable safety leader. From our earliest days of effectively countering attempts to impose inland waterways user fees; to defending the Jones Act against those seeking to undermine it; from establishing the Responsible Carrier Program as the industry standard for safety management systems; to partnering with the Coast Guard to elevate safety standards across the industry through thoughtful implementation of Subchapter M; and much more—we have worked hard to reach these milestones together. We have endured and thrived as an organization because of our community of members—companies of all sizes, from all regions and sectors, speaking in one voice and demonstrating strength and resilience even in the face of difficult economic and political cycles. And, while we recognize there are many challenges that still lie ahead, we approach them with confidence and optimism because we are privileged to represent an industry that is indispensable to keeping our nation prosperous and secure. On behalf of the entire AWO team, thank you for all you have done to help your association succeed over the past 75 years. We are proud to work with you and for you, and we are excited to continue this journey of commitment to unwavering advocacy, safety leadership, and a strong community. We hope you enjoy this book and its look back on our industry’s remarkable story. Sincerely,

Thomas A. Allegretti

Jennifer A. Carpenter

President & CEO

Executive Vice President & COO