22
FOGHORN
F
ew people enter the passenger vessel industry because they love changing oil, scraping 
rust, or completing maintenance records. We choose this work because we enjoy operating 
vessels, serving passengers, and being on the water. Yet the longer I work in this industry, 
the more convinced I am that the strongest organizations are not necessarily those with the new-
est boats or the largest budgets. They are the ones that treat maintenance as a philosophy, not 
merely a list of required tasks.
PHOTO: ANGEL ISLAND–TIBURON FERRY
Maintenance: 
Necessary Evil 
or Winning 
Philosophy?
WHY THE WAY WE THINK ABOUT MAINTENANCE SHAPES 
THE FUTURE OF PASSENGER VESSEL OPERATIONS
CAPT. AARON SWERKES  //  ANGEL ISLAND–TIBURON FERRY
FOGHORN FOCUS
Opposite: The 1912 wooden tug Mirene, still operating after more than a century of care, coatings, and stewardship.

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