Marquette Christens Mv. John Paul Eckstein, Honors Longtime President

When Marquette Transportation Company signed the contract on a new 10,000 hp. towboat from Belle Chasse, La.-based C&C Marine and Repair, company CEO Damon Judd said he knew from early in the process two things.

First, he knew it was going to be a special boat. Second, if it was going to be such a special boat, there was only one person to name it after: former president and current executive chairman John Eckstein.

Eckstein came to work at Marquette for his father, Ray, in 1990, and just a year later, at age 27, Eckstein took the reins as president. He held that job until 2020, when he began serving as executive chairman. When he went to work at Marquette in 1990, the company had five towboats. Today, Marquette operates more than 130 vessels.

Besides Eckstein’s leadership at Marquette, he also has had a significant impact on Judd as a mentor. At the January 10 christening for the mv. John Paul Eckstein, Judd looked back on a pivotal meeting in late 2006 just after he became involved with Marquette.

“We spent two days with him patiently explaining to this young finance guy things like what a kort nozzle was and why you’d spend nearly a million dollars replacing them on a 40-year-old boat,” Judd said. “That was my intro to a journey that, for me, has been 19 years. … I’ve had the honor of working with John as a partner, as a boss and with him as my mentor.”

Judd called it an “incredible entrepreneurial success story.”

“When John came back into the business in the early 90s, Marquette had five boats and 50 to 75 barges,” Judd said. “Today, just shy of 36 years later, he’s executive chairman of one of the industry’s leading businesses. I think, the best business, personally. Together, with our customer partners and our friends at Canal Barge Company, we’re moving over 4,000 barges across the dry, liquid and deck barge markets, supported by nearly 200 boats.”

Judd described Eckstein’s competitiveness, commitment to building teams and relationships, willingness to experiment with boat design and operations to achieve greater efficiency.

“We talk about competing fiercely and winning fairly,” Judd said. “That relentless drive is John’s DNA imprint on Marquette.”

He also highlighted Eckstein’s generosity, from organizing donations to food banks during the COVID-19 pandemic to supporting hospitals, shelters, schools and other causes in the river industry and beyond.

“There’s so much more that John, Loree and the family have done that no one has ever read about, no one has ever heard about,” Judd said. “Yes, they give back with their dollars, but more importantly, they give back with their hearts.”

Standing at the podium with his namesake vessel in the background, Eckstein reflected on growing up in Cassville, Wis., with his father starting first Wisconsin Barge Line and then Marquette Transportation in 1978. He recounted his time at Coe College in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and how a conversation with his mother and the leadership of a professor pushed him toward success, not only there but also at Vanderbilt University.

Eckstein described his dad as “a shrewd businessman” who fought his way through the economic downturn of the 1980s, holding on to two towboats, including the original mv. John Paul Eckstein.

Eckstein also talked about the 1997 christening of the second Marquette towboat named after him.

“The biggest thing about that is, for my lovely bride, Loree, of 28 years, it’s the first time she met my crazy family, my crazy colleagues,” Eckstein said to laughs, later adding, “And here we are, 29 years later, three additional kids and these beautiful grandkids.”

Eckstein also told the story of the boat that’s now the Alix Anne Eckstein coming up for auction in New Orleans around 1994. The company’s bank initially approved a bid up to $3.4 million for the boat, but there was a rumor that another company planned to bid up to $5 million.

“So I called my dad, talked to my bankers, and they agree to raise it to $5 million,” Eckstein said. “100 percent financed. The agreement was we’d give them 10 percent down in six months. We didn’t have half a million.”

Eckstein recalled standing in the courthouse, with a bank bidding $3.3 million, then another towing company bidding $5.1 million.

“Now, I’d been approved for five million, but not five-one,” Eckstein said. “We had a cashier’s check, which you had to give them, for $500,000 but not $510,000. I’m sitting there, like, ‘What do I do?’ They’re counting down, counting down. Finally, it got to the count of three, and I said, ‘John Eckstein for Marquette Transportation bids $5,110,000.’ The whole room went, ‘Who the hell is that? What did they just do?’ And I’m like, ‘Somebody else please bid.’ That was like what a billion dollars would be now.”

Eckstein’s team, though, picked up the boat, got it christened and put it to work immediately.

“And not only did we come up with a 10 percent deposit,” Eckstein said. “We paid the thing off in 18 months, and it was the start of it all.”

Eckstein thanked his core team, many of whom are still active with Marquette, his family and friends, and his wife, Loree.

“It’s been quite a journey, and it’s not over yet,” he said. “There’s a lot more journey left, and I’m excited about the future of these companies and the future for this boat.”

With the vessel crew looking down from the second deck, the Eckstein family gathered on the bow of the mv. John Paul Eckstein, with Loree Eckstein breaking a bottle of champagne over the capstan.

More About The Vessel

Delivered in October, the CT Marine-designed mv. John Paul Eckstein boasts 10,000 hp. from a pair of Caterpillar C280-12 main engines from Louisiana CAT that are mated to Reintjes WAF 6755H gears from Karl Senner LLC (5.05:1 reduction ratio). Together, the main engines and gears turn massive 122-inch-diameter propellers from H.S. Marine. The wheels turn within kort nozzles, with steering by twin-DIFF rudders from CT Marine. Louisiana CAT also supplied the vessel’s three Caterpillar C9.3 250 kw. generators.

The mv. John Paul Eckstein measures 189 feet by 50 feet with a 12-foot depth and 10-foot draft. The vessel has tankage for 120,000 gallons of fuel, 16,000 gallons of potable water, 2,000 gallons of lube oil and 1,000 gallons of gear oil. Shafts are by J&S Machine, seals are by Duramax and bearings are from Thordon. Dumarax also supplied the engine cooling system. Eagle Control Systems supplied the engine alarms and the steering system.

On deck, the mv. John Paul Eckstein features six 65-ton Patterson electric winches, two 40-ton manual winches and 12 65-ton roller buttons. Wintech supplied the capstan.

Gmeni Marine Electronics provided the Furuno electronics and communications equipment, and Hiller supplied smoke and heat detection equipment and the fire suppression system. Schuyler Maritime provided all fendering.

The John Paul Eckstein features 12 berths arranged in 10 staterooms for its crew.

The lead captain aboard the John Paul Eckstein is Capt. Larry Sibley, a Marquette legend who previously served aboard the mv. Rick Calhoun. Relief captain aboard the John Paul Eckstein is Rodney Fair.

Speaking at the christening ceremony, Eckstein discussed some keys to Marquette’s success over the years. Attention to maintenance and “making miles” was a key focus from the start.

“It’s all about making miles,” Eckstein said. “From the day I got into this business, it was about making ton miles. I analyzed and measured ton miles from the first day I took over. You can’t make miles if you’re broken down.”

Eckstein also praised the company’s mariners that operate its fleet and move barges day in and day out.

“I can’t say enough about the maritime worker,” Eckstein said. “The mariners we deal with are some of the most amazing people, amazing Americans. They’re what this country was built off of. It is not easy work. This is hard work. You’re away from home, away from family. You miss birthdays and holidays.”

Eckstein said that’s why Marquette prioritizes leadership that cares and understands about the company’s mariners.

“You can’t run a company without caring about the green deckhand, first day on the job,” he said. “That person is just as important as the CEO, and you’ve got to understand that.”

Featured image caption: The mv. John Paul Eckstein pushing a tow in the Mississippi River near Memphis, Tenn. (Photo by Todd Qualls/TZach Towboats)