It’s been 44 sea­sons since Tug Cap­tain Joseph Heaney made his debut on the Great Lakes, but he still finds excite­ment each day on the job.

“Every day is a new chal­lenge – it’s excit­ing. Each day you head out on the water it’s always some­thing different.”

Over the 25 sea­sons he’s spent with The Great Lakes Tow­ing Com­pa­ny, Heaney has not only lived a life of adven­ture, he’s also become part of a team that tru­ly sup­ports one anoth­er. His crew is anchored by sea­soned vet­er­ans that have a pas­sion for men­tor­ing the more junior seamen.

“To the old­er guys in this indus­try it tru­ly is a respon­si­bil­i­ty to teach those com­ing into the field. We care about the future and want to ensure the next gen­er­a­tion is ready to fill that Captain’s chair.”

Train­ing is a big focus for Heaney because, “You nev­er know what you’re going to face on the Great Lakes. Whether it’s a tough tow or weath­er – like microbursts – a ship’s cap­tain may think it’s going to be smooth sail­ing. Often that’s when Moth­er Nature has oth­er plans. That’s when Great Lakes Tow­ing is there to help.”

He him­self has been able to receive great sup­port as he’s moved through his career. He cred­its the lead­er­ship at The Tow­ing Com­pa­ny with help­ing to make this pos­si­ble, “Ron Ras­mus hired me – I owe him a lot. He’s done a great job of keep­ing the com­pa­ny strong, build­ing a capa­ble lead­er­ship team and inspir­ing great work. He’s an amaz­ing guy – I’m just hap­py to know him.”

Uti­liz­ing a Full-Ser­vice Lakes-Wide Tow­ing Con­tract with the Tow­ing Com­pa­ny pro­vides added insur­ance. It’s an addi­tion­al lev­el of safe­ty and sea­man­ship to pro­tect your crew, equip­ment, and the envi­ron­ment; wher­ev­er your ves­sel may call on the Great Lakes.