Page 20: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (June 2, 2010)

20 Maritime Reporter & Engineering News

By William duBarry Thomas

We all appreciated Don Sutherland's celebration of the 150 years of Moran towing (Maritime Reporter & Engineer- ing News, April 2010). It was an excit- ing collection of vignettes on the life of the company and of its founder, Michael

Moran. There were many other aspects of that remarkable company and of its equally remarkable founder that might further inform, if not entertain, the read- ers of Maritime Reporter.

Rarely has a Moran tug been lost, but during the 1890s one vessel was over- come by heavy weather conditions im- mediately outside of New York harbor.

The company had contracted during this period to tow refuse barges to be dumped in the open sea outside of Sandy Hook.

Random Roamings within the Moran Fleet

NEWS (Photo: Don Sutherland)

By Greg Trauthwein, editor

It is with sadness that I report the pass- ing on May 23, 2010, of Don Sutherland, a long-tenured contributor to both Mar- itime Reporter & Engineering News and

MarineNews magazines.

Having worked with Don for nearly a decade, I was privy to a media profes- sional who was not only passionate about the prose and images he provided to us on a monthly basis starting in De- cember 2001, but a man who was in- tensely passionate about the maritime industry: the boats, the history, the burn- ing issues of the day, but first and fore- most, the unique personalities, the strands that together weave the fabric that is the core strength of the maritime market.

Most everyone who met or knew Don has a story to share, as, he housed a strong personality, a sharp wit and a keen sense of humor. He was a born commu- nicator, with the unique capability to elo- quently tell a story in 5,000 words when 500 would suffice.

But while he could write and talk at great length of varied topics, Don was first and foremost a professional photog- rapher who provided a collection of artistic images that told the ongoing tale of the workboat market — the boats and the people — that have graced our pages for more than a decade.

Don was, in fact, a digital photography guru, making a career of rating and re- porting on cameras.

As much as the words, his images told the story, and if I ever had the audacity to remove one of these critical bits from his work, he was never shy to share his feel- ings. And while he took his craft seri- ously and brought new meaning to “stick to your guns,” he was affable and rather easily swayed, particularly after hashing it out over a peace offering of several dozen oysters and beer.

Most who know me know that I rarely remember what I had for lunch, let alone the exact date of an event that happened nearly 10 years ago.

But I will never forget that first edition that Don supplied text and images, for it is Don who actually found us after the terror attacks on New York City on

September 11, 2001, providing to the

December 2001 edition of Maritime Re- porter & Engineering News words and haunting images that captured not only the personal and structural destruction in lower Manhattan, but also the nerve and resolve of the maritime community’s re- sponse to help save lives, untangle an un- thinkable mess, and start to build again.

That started a nearly 10 year journey of “Don” stories that, in my estimation, helped to capture essence and insights into this industry, a unique spin that is rarely found in traditional business-to- business publications.

Only once in 10 years did I actually as- sign a topic to Don, as he had free reign to find and report, living on a tug for two weeks in one instance, or his annual so- journs to cover a variety of “Tug Round-

Ups.” The one assignment I did hand out was an open-ended ticket to New Or- leans in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, where Don spent nearly a month collect- ing a dizzying array of images and sto- ries on this vital maritime region’s response in the wake of natural devasta- tion; reporting on one hurricane while dodging the next, Hurricane Rita.

Personally and professionally, Don

Sutherland will be sorely missed.

In Memory of

Don Sutherland

Laura K. Moran delivers a docking pilot to NCC Dammam, inbound to

Bayonne. Pilots seem to endorse the stability of a Z-drive, when taking those first steps up the side. (Photo ©2010 Jonathan Atkin)

Don Sutherland striking a familiar pose in 2007.