The Greater Houston Port Bureau (“Port Bureau”) is pleased to announce that Tom Marian, General Counsel for Buffalo Marine Service, Inc., has been selected as the 2026 Maritime Leader of the Year. Marian will be honored at the Port Bureau’s Annual Maritime Dinner on August 22, 2026. The Port Bureau Board of Directors named Marian as the 2026 honoree for his exceptional leadership and steadfast dedication to advancing the maritime sector and Houston port region.

Marian joined Buffalo Marine Service in 2007. Prior to this, he attended the U.S. Coast Guard Academy and graduating in 1984, he was assigned to San Juan, Puerto Rico and spent the next nine years in the waterways management arena in New Orleans, Honolulu, and Seattle. He transferred to New Orleans to attend Tulane Law School and subsequently assigned to the Eighth Coast Guard District legal staff as a Judge Advocate. In 2000, Marian was detailed to the Joint Interagency Task Forth South in Key West as the Command’s legal advisor. Upon completion of that tour, he was transferred to Vessel Traffic Service Houston/Galveston as the Commanding Officer. In 2005, Marian retired from the Coast Guard.

“We recognize Tom Marian as the Greater Houston Port Bureau’s 2026 Maritime Leader of the Year. He has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to the growth and success of our maritime industry and made a profound impact on the Houston port region. I deeply appreciate his personal support for these many years,” said Vincent DiCosimo, Chairman of the Greater Houston Port Bureau.

Marian has served on multiple boards and committees including Gulf Intracoastal Canal Association (Chairman), American Waterways Operators (Chairman); Lonestar Harbor Safety Committee (Chairman), Houston Maritime Center and Museum, Pilot Board Investigation and Recommendation Committee, Southeast Texas Waterway Advisory Council, and serves on the Greater Houston Port Bureau board.

“As a board member of the Port Bureau board for 20 years, I have had the privilege of witnessing the growth of the organization’s influence throughout the ports it represents. The network it has forged with its members has been instrumental in forging a community of interest focused on the wellbeing of the nation’s largest port. The annual Maritime Dinner celebrates the accomplishments of many individuals and stakeholders, and I am honored to be a part of it,” said Marian.

The Houston Ship Channel is the nation’s busiest waterway. Collectively, the more than 200 private and public terminals along the 52-mile channel make the area the nation’s largest port for waterborne tonnage. The Channel supports 1.54 million jobs in Texas and 3.37 million jobs nationwide, and economic activity over $500 billion in Texas – nearly 20 percent of Texas’ total gross domestic product (GDP) – and $1.2 trillion in economic impact across the nation.

Over 800 maritime, transportation, and industry professionals and their guests attend the Annual Maritime Dinner to recognize maritime leaders or companies that have exhibited outstanding leadership and support for the port region. Recent honorees include Roger Guenther, immediate past Executive Director of Port Houston, Jürgen Schröder, founder of Schröder Marine Services, Inc., David Grzebinski, CEO of Kirby Corporation, Port Houston Commission Chairman Ric Campo, and Jim Teague, Co-CEO of Enterprise Products Partners L.P.

The Annual Maritime Dinner is supported by Title sponsor Buffalo Marine Service, Inc., Queen of the Fleet sponsors, Callan Marine, Energy Transfer, Enterprise Products Partners L.P., Kinder Morgan, Kirby Corporation, Port Houston, Shamrock Marine, Targa Resources, and Vopak. Proceeds from the Annual Maritime Dinner support the Port Bureau’s regional maritime advocacy efforts. Table and sponsorship opportunities and additional information are available online at www.txgulf.org/annual-dinner.

Source: BUSINESS WIRE