It may have become evident that I am of the opinion that the maritime community is a tower of strength for the spirit of cooperation, jointness and just getting the job done. I will provide yet another example of this, but first let me set the stage.
This year is the 350th anniversary of the founding of New Jersey. New Jersey was a little late in getting founded because it was controlled by the Dutch who were interested in maritime and trade, but not all that much in settling the landward side of Nieuw Amsterdam. This changed in 1663/1664 when the Dutch ceded Nieuw Amsterdam to England and British farmers who felt that it was time to officially settle the land we now know as New Jersey.
The most significant settlement that occurred was the arrival of a few English Quaker and Baptist families who left Gravesend Bay, Brooklyn and arrived in Monmouth County near the mouth of the Navesink River in the early summer of 1664.
They came by boat and our friends at Navesink Maritime Heritage Association felt we should commemorate this event with a visit to the Navesink by a proper vessel. It turns out we knew about such a vessel, it is the Onrust.
The Onrust is a 2009 replica of the sloop Onrust, the first European vessel built in our part of the world in 1614 (yes, that is exactly 400 years ago!) and that was used by Adriaan Block (of Block Island fame) in his regional discovery voyages. The vessel is a dead ringer for the type of vessel that the settlers would have used, and NMHA really wanted that vessel on the Navesink River in June of 2014.
We liked the idea and Martin & Ottaway agreed to put together the kitty that would ensure that the vessel could make the voyage. So what do we do in the maritime world? We pick up the phone and in less time than it took me to write this story there were an excellent collection of local maritime companies sharing the cost of getting the boat to visit Monmouth County and providing proof that one cannot ignore maritime in getting the job done.
These are the companies that joined Martin & Ottaway; they are typical examples of what it means to be in maritime.
KPI-Bridge Oil You need ship’s fuel anywhere around the world? Call Red Bank, NJ based KPI-Bridge 24/7 and they’ll take care of you.
Bailey Refrigeration Is your banana boat coming in with broken reefer equipment? Call Bailey and they’ll hustle over to get the plant running again.
Sea Shipping North America You need to ship something weird to the end of the world? Call Red Bank, NJ based Sea Shipping and they’ll take care of it.
Condition Analyzing Corporation Worried about your rotating equipment aboard your ship anywhere around the world? Call Eatontown, NJ based CAC and they’ll send their techs over to figure out what is going on.
The Law Firm of Eugene McDonald Maritime Law is an ancient and very elegant legal specialty. Gene McDonald is the attorney who knows how to put Monmouth and Maritime Law together.
LMM Claims Service Freight forwarders and NVOCC’s need insurance and claims need to be handled quickly. LLM Claims Service is the Matawan based North American claims manager for A.T.L.A.S.
Goltens Engine problems anywhere around the world? Call Goltens and they’ll have their people on the way to fix the problem.
Randive Sooner or later something needs to be taken care of by divers and that is when Randive gets called in. If it is underwater they do it; any time, day or night.
Donjon Marine Dredging, construction, demolition, recycling and salvage; this New Jersey maritime company does it all, and doing it fast is their specialty.
Seastreak What the settlers first did in 1664, Seastreak does today and does it in style. Life is great, because Monmouth County is connected to New York City (and even Martha’s Vineyard!) with topnotch high speed ferry service.
Besides the above sponsors, I also have to mention a non-commercial maritime sponsor.
Society of Marine Port Engineers This is a maritime society that promotes cooperation between port engineers. Port Engineers are the professionals that work for shipowners and who ensure that all these ships that enter New Jersey ports keep running and do it safely and reliably. They did not want to be left out, and provided a donation from their outreach fund.
