April 25, 2025
When Lorri Stewart first started working in the marine industry, she never dreamed it would become a lifelong career. Lorri got her start with Seaspan Ship Management, before later joining Seaspan Marine Petrobulk. 30 years later, Lorri is now the Senior Manager, Ship Assist & Business Development at Seaspan Marine.
Along the way, Lorri has realized that one of the key things that has drawn her into this industry is the strong sense of community and working with great people. “My favourite part of my job is building relationships with our customers. We have such a great customer base — and it’s fun you know. I’m lucky to work with a lot of wonderful people.”
Today, building and maintaining strong, long-term customer relationships is a key part of her role. Lorri is accountable for the overall sales, customer service, and revenue generation of ship assist services, including developing and securing new business, fulfilling and monitoring contractual obligations and resolving operational issues.
With over 15 years of experience doing ship assist work specifically, Lorri has seen the market evolve. For example, shifting from agent discretional work, where ship owners are represented by agents, to a model that favours direct contracts with shippers and vessel operators.
“I remember ten years ago it was all run by agents and there were almost no direct contracts. That started to change when other tugboat competitors came into the [Vancouver] market. They were not having success because they didn’t have those established, long term relationships with the agents — so their strategy was to start going directly to the customers for contracts.”
This shift in strategy has had significant impacts on the tugboat and ship assist industry, explains Lorri:
“There have been positive elements to it. In some ways, you have a guaranteed book of business, and Seaspan has great relationships in the market. At the same time, competition is high, with new players offering exceptionally low rates. Some shippers do go for the lowest price, but many also value quality of service — and that’s where we excel.”
“Seaspan Marine is well known for being on time, communicating clearly, and upholding high safety and environmental standards. Our tugboats are crewed by highly skilled mariners 24/7, and our port captains are ready to provide emergency services to support anyone in trouble out on the water,” Lorri adds.
With over 130 years of experience navigating the waters of the Pacific Northwest, Seaspan Marine provides more than 2,400 ship assist and escort services annually —from Vancouver and Victoria and now Kitimat, BC with the new HaiSea Marine tugboat fleet. This home-base advantage is part of what makes Seaspan a key player in the industry — something Lorri is proud to champion through her work.
Her day to day involves maintaining and developing customer relationships, finding new business opportunities, and ensuring her team delivers best in class service.
Beyond her role at Seaspan, Lorri is an active voice in the broader marine and shipping industry.
“It’s important to stay informed and engaged with what’s impacting our sector. It’s a tight-knit community with a lot of good people,” she says. “At the same time, like many other industries, there are challenges — ours is still very male-dominated. Things are changing slowly, but we need to do more than just hire women. We also need to shift the culture, so women are included and feel safe at work.”
That’s why Lorri values events like the Women in Marine day that Seaspan recently hosted with industry partners.
“These kinds of opportunities are important because they give young people someone to look up to as a mentor. And for me, with years of experience in the industry, I really appreciated hearing other women’s stories — I could really relate,” she says.
“On one hand, we’re an industry where women are underrepresented, and we’ve all faced challenges. But by sharing our stories, we raise awareness and start taking steps to create real change.”
When asked what advice she would give to young women interested in a career at sea or in ship assist, Lorri offers two simple but powerful pieces of advice: “Don’t be afraid to stand up for yourself” and “ask for help.”
“There’s still a lot of change needed in this industry, and you may have to work twice as hard,” she explains. “But don’t be afraid to be a whistle-blower — you deserve to be treated with respect. And don’t hesitate to reach out. That’s one of the great things about these [Women in Marine] events—they help build that support network you can turn to.”
In addition to her role as a leader and mentor at Seaspan, Lorri dedicates her time to the Chamber of Shipping of BC, a non-profit organization that is committed to building and maintaining constructive relationships with legislators at all levels. The Chamber provides input at the highest levels of marine policy making and members meet with marine partners and stakeholders with a solution-driven approach aimed at achieving the best outcome for all involved.
After previously serving as Vice Chair of the Board of Directors for the last 4 years, Lorri was recently nominated as the first Chairwoman of the board. This nomination is a testament to Lorri’s dedication to the marine community and reflects her efforts to make the shipping industry safer and more inclusive for everyone.
Congratulations, Lorri!