Capt. Michael Johnson, Reliant Maritime Solutions

Growing up near the Mobile River, Michael Johnson was fascinated by boats. All boats. From small fishing boats to the big towboats he saw, they all sparked his interest.

Johnson was born in Germany while his father was in the service, but Bay Minnette, Ala., near Mobile, became his home. While he was still in high school, he watched the towboats going by when he was fishing and thought he would like to work on one someday.

A neighbor worked for a major barge line, and Johnson talked to him about employment possibilities. When that didn’t materialize promptly, though, he went to work in the construction industry. Later, when the neighbor did contact him to ask if he was still interested in working on the river, Johnson jumped at the chance to finally work on a vessel like the ones he had watched for years.

Starting as a “green” deckhand, Johnson was assigned to a boat with a three-person crew.

“I may have implied that I knew more about the job than I did,” he said. “We had dropped a tow one night, and the pilot told me I needed to get everything off the barges that we had just dropped. I grabbed our running lights and told him we were ready to go. The pilot laughed and said, ‘You really have a lot to learn, don’t you?’”

Johnson liked the work and enjoyed learning, and in the coming years, he advanced from deckhand to lead deckhand to mate.

He eventually was placed in a steersman program, but it was somewhat part time. A friend who had gone to work for Paducah, Ky.-based Reliant Maritime Solutions LLC, a new company at the time, thought Johnson would be a good fit for Reliant. In time, he went to work for Reliant, first as a deckhand. He quickly moved into a full-time steersman program.

Johnson said he will always be grateful to the captains and pilots he’s worked with for sharing their expertise with him.

“If I wasn’t on watch for a particular ‘bad spot,’ I would get up when the boat was nearing it to see how it was done,” he said.

Johnson vividly remembers standing his first solo watch aboard the 3,200 hp. City of Pittsburgh in 2023. It was thrilling to be “on your own,” he said. At the same time, though, there was no longer a more experienced pilot behind him that could be turned to for advice. He worked aboard the City of Pittsburgh for about a year, then on several others in the Reliant fleet. Johnson currently serves aboard the 6,140 hp. mv. Max A. Fletcher, which normally runs between St. Louis and New Orleans.

Johnson has worked on the Upper Mississippi (as far as Grafton, Ill.), the Lower Mississippi, the Illinois, Ohio, Cumberland, Tennessee and Red rivers, as well as both eastern and western ends of the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway. Johnson said he most enjoys running the Mississippi River between St. Louis and New Orleans.

When asked about working in the inland river industry in general, Johnson said,“I love the life it has given me.” He went on to say that the work is enjoyable and that he especially appreciates the days off in blocks of time, which allows him to spend time with family and to do the things that he enjoys in a way that might not be possible with a traditional 9-to-5 job.

Regarding challenges faced on the boats today, Johnson was quick to refer to the fact that some new recruits to the deckhand ranks can be somewhat lacking in the area of a work ethic. Cell phones can often create a hinderance to completing some tasks in a timely manner. He said that is not a blanket assessment, since some new recruits do very well and have a great attitude toward the job. Johnson said he would recommend that anyone just starting out as a new deckhand “keep your head down and do what is required of you.”

Johnson is grateful for all the modern equipment in the pilothouse that helps him in navigating his vessel, especially the electronic charting systems and latest radar and depth sounding technology. Johnson said he’s asked some senior pilothouse people how they ever made it without such things. One captain told him, “I often wonder myself how we ever made it!” His advice for new pilots is, “Don’t get complacent, and even after being turned loose and standing your own watch, keep watching and learning from others.”

Capt. Jeff Stoneking, vice president of operations for Reliant Maritime, said that Johnson is a very dedicated employee that has been with the company almost as long as it has been in business.

“He is always willing to go wherever he is needed,” Stoneking said.

Reflecting on his time with Reliant, Johnson said he is very appreciative of all the support he receives from the operations staff at Reliant. They make it a pleasure to work there, he said.