| 2024 | Quarter 2 | Issue Twelve |
the voyager Newsletter
Welcome to Dupre Marine’s Quarterly Newsletter!
IN THIS ISSUE
Employee Spotlights
Special: 10 Year Anniversaries
Recipe for the Whole Crew
Just for Fun Quiz for Everyone
Calvin’s Corner
Safety Topic
Crew Safety Quiz
NEW! Shoreside Funnies
DMT Anniversaries for this Quarter
Company News & Updates
dmt’s Wheelhouse spotlight:
Captain Robert Woody Stracner has reached an impressive milestone, marking his 10-year anniversary with Dupre Marine. He is spotlighted not only for his dedication and his excellent skills and expertise as a captain, but he is undoubtedly a true master when it comes to ensuring the safety of both his crew and the M/V Kleberg.
With a deep commitment to maintaining the highest standards of safety, Captain Woody is not only a skilled captain but also a caring one who values the well-being of his crew above all else. He creates a culture of safety and excellence with his crew. And as a great leader with high standards, he has impressively and successfully turned the M/V Kleberg into an beautiful vessel with continuous hard work with his team.
And Captain Woody is a devoted family man, prioritizing the precious home time he has with his wife Stephanie, as well as his daughters and grandkids. His unwavering commitment to his career is driven by his love for his family and their wonderful life in Alabama. His off-time is what he looks forward to. Those grandkids have a list of things for Pappy to do when he is home, including shaking his pockets for change and he loves every minute of it!!
Captain Woody, your dedication to the company, your boat and to excellence shines through in everything you do, making us proud to have you as a valued member of the Dupre Marine Family. You are so appreciated and we look forward to many years to come!
dmt spotlight:
Two years ago, Kannon Brown entered Dupre Marine right after celebrating his 18th birthday. Starting out as a green deckhand, he had a foundation in the towboat industry thanks to his dad, Captain Kenny Brown of Maritime Throwdown, throwing lines as a child I’m sure!
With a clear vision of his towboat career and future, Kannon has been seeking knowledge from seasoned captains. Last year, Captain Alex Landry became the captain of the M/V Cove Point, a young leader who has been mentoring Kannon, giving him invaluable knowledge and direction. Taking responsibility for bringing the Cove Point up to Dupre Marine’s high standards, Kannon rose to the occasion, ensuring with hard work and attention to detail, he could make her shine.
Captain Alex states that, “Mr. Brown (Kannon) has been with me for a little over a year on two different boats, and his passion, enthusiasm and work ethic has not wavered. He is definitely an outstanding employee, great teammate and a good friend. I’m looking forward to seeing him advance in his career in the next few years.”
Kannon, your contributions have not gone unnoticed, we commend you for your outstanding work and we appreciate your dedication to being a part of our Dupre Marine Family and we look forward to continually building your long career with us.
10 years at dupre marine in 2024!
How time flies! It is a special year to have 5 crew members, all wheelmen added in 2024 to the 10 year anniversary group!
Robert Woody Stracner - May 2014
Woody, Captain of the M/V Kleberg
Dennis Parks - May 2014
Dennis, Wheelman on the M/V Chris Miller
Sidney Verdin - July 2014
Sidney, Captain of the M/V Kathleen Dupre
Chad Verdin - August 2014
Chad, Captain of the M/V Wells Porche
Jeff Verdin - August 2014
Jeff, Captain of the M/V Brendan K
It is an honor for Dupre Marine Transportation to have these five wheelmen at the helm of our vessels for the past 10 years! They are truly exceptional and dedicated to their craft, ensuring the safety of their crews and boats over the past decade. In addition to their loyalty to Rory and Dupre Marine, each of these captains has a unique personality that adds to the strength and success of our company. They are all determined and succeed at being the best!
Chad, Dennis, Jeff, Sidney and Woody thank you for being a part of the Dupre Marine Family for the past decade and we look forward to many years to come!
captain’s meetings 2024 a success!
Dupre Marine Transportation's 2024 Captain's Meetings
Four incredible Captain’s meetings, and the highlight of each was the engaging interaction among all participants. Rory, Calvin, Jaimen, and Frank had the opportunity to provide insights into the “behind the scenes” of the Shoreside operations to the wheelmen, leading to valuable reactions, suggestions, and some fun engagement too.
The Wheelhouse team carries a significant weight of responsibility on their vessels, and we hold deep admiration for their expertise and effective communication with Shoreside. So we believe we all got good info from these meetings!
We had a fantastic turnout and we look forward to the Captain’s meetings in 2025!
Enjoy the video with snippets from each of the meetings and thank you to all that participated.
a Recipe for the Whole Crew!
S’more Brownies
S’mores bring back childhood summer memories and hopefully you share those time today with friends and family. Here’s a great easy recipe for the whole crew to enjoy with all the ingredients from the traditional S’mores and more!
Ingredients:
1 box brownie mix (water, eggs, and oil needed to prepare as directed on box)
2 cups of mini marshmallows
15 graham cracker sheets (12 crushed for crust, 3 broken up into smaller pieces to top the brownies
1 bag mini peanut butter cups
1/3 cup butter unsalted, melted
3 tbsp sugar
Directions:
1. Preheat oven to 350 degrees and prepare a 9×13 baking dish with non-stick spray.
2. Prepare the crust: In a food processor, combine the melted butter, graham crackers and sugar. Pulse until combined into fine pieces. Press the mixture into the bottom of your baking dish and bake for 10 minutes.
3. Prepare the brownie mix as directed on the box and pour over the graham cracker crust. Bake in the oven for 38-40 minutes, or until a toothpick comes out clean.
4. While baking, chop a ½ cup of unwrapped mini peanut butter cups and set aside.
5. When the brownies are done. Set the oven to broil 500 degrees. Top the brownies with your marshmallows, graham crackers and the ½ cup chopped peanut butter cups. Broil for 1-3 minutes. Watch closely! The marshmallows will brown quickly, remove once golden on top.
6. Allow cooling for 30 minutes and then top the brownies with the remaining peanut butter cups. Finish cooling and then cut to serve.
ENJOY!
Fun quiz: independance day
Throughout the year we have many celebrations of our country, the United States of America, but in July we have Independence Day, which celebrates our Freedom! How much do you know?!
(as always No Googling!)
Vessel Culture
By Calvin Self
“Culture”, we use this word all the time. We use it at DMT almost daily when describing our fleet or a particular vessel. But what does it really mean, what are we trying to convey when we use the term “vessel culture”? Simply put, vessel culture is the collection of attitudes, beliefs and behaviors of all crew members that make up the regular crew of a vessel.
Someone told me recently that you can’t teach good culture, but I don’t know that to be true. Maybe teach is just the wrong word when discussing culture, maybe a better word would be “grow”. I know that may sound strange to some of you but hear me out. We hire new employees to work on our vessels and many of them are young inexperienced deckhands. We then put these young men in our vessel crews’ hands, and it is their job to mold these inexperienced deckhands into safety minded employees that are proud of their job. What is that if not growing a positive culture? Each and every employee at DMT has a responsibility to take the time to correct bad behaviors and encourage good ones. In other words, it is your responsibility to have a positive personal culture and have a positive influence on those around you.
Just as it is each employee’s responsibility to have a positive personal culture, it is the duty of the captain to ensure the collective vessel culture is where it needs to be. This is one of his most important jobs. This is the job that all the other jobs feed off of. If a captain has a crew that has a good work ethic, is safety minded, and takes pride in his work, it makes all the other jobs much easier.
A safety-first mindset. A good work ethic. Taking pride in your job and the company you work for. Wanting to be the best. Employees that check all these boxes are the ones that have a positive effect on the culture of a vessel and company. Employees that check these boxes make us who we are. Salute.
Congrats Matt gisclair on your stop work award at the Kirby No Harm Banquet!
Matt and his wife, Veronica joined Calvin at the awards banquet on May 30th in Houston
safety topic: zero injuries!
In the line of work our employees carry out on towboats, particularly for the deck crew, occurrences of back injuries and various soft tissue injuries are notably frequent. It is disheartening that many, if not all, of these injuries could have been avoided. By comprehending the causes of back and soft tissue injuries and putting in place a few safety measures, everyone can take the necessary steps to guarantee a safe return home.
first thing to do: strrreeeeeeetch!
Yep, it’s a simple thing a lot of people don’t want to do from fitness workouts to working on the boat (or any other strenuous work…or even at the sticks or sitting at a desk!). But it takes only 5-10 minutes (Kirby says 6 minutes in their 6 Minutes to Safety Campaign). Regardless of your task, if you haven’t stretched you are definitely at a higher risk for an injury. Back, knee and shoulder injuries are the most prevalent and most avoidable. Stretching before you start your watch (along with plenty of water and a good meal or snack to keep from cramping) can protect you from injury. Plus, the more you stretch the easier a task becomes!
So what do you do for your stretches? Well you can easily YouTube videos for basic 5-10 minute stretching. Kirby’s 6 Minutes to Safety breaks it down simply into 4 categories and you can pick a couple from each. Do it alone or better yet, do it with other crew members!
6 MINUTES TO SAFETY: THE STRETCHES
This is the breakdown of the stretches that can be done. As you see, there is a quick cardio to choose from then a variety to choose from for the leg, hip and upper body stretches. These will improve your flexibility and mobility and coordination.
Description of Exercises and Stretches:
STANDING IN PLACE HIGH KNEES or RUNNING IN PLACE: As you alternate hand to knee this will mimic running in place or you can just run in place. It works your core, muscles in your legs and heart rate.
JUMPING JACKS or STEP OUTS: We’ve all done these as kids! If you don’t like jumping then step-out are just the jacks without the jumping. These target glutes, core, hips, quads, hamstrings and shoulders. The whole body!
WINDMILL TOE TOUCHES: Basically a body twist with arms and legs stretched like a windmill and touch your toe with the opposite hand. This work your abs, obliques, hamstrings, glutes and hip flexors
STATIC LUNGES: These are lunges in place. These target the glutes, quads, hamstrings and hip flexors. Your abs keep you stable and balanced. Walking lunges are just as great, you are just moving forward.
AIR SQUATS: We’ve all done squats. The best squatters are small children they can get their butt to the floor and stay that way while they play. For us adults it is not as easy to get squat like a kid, but with air squats just get as low as you can without losing your form. Air squats are simply squatting in place with your arms going out in front for balance. This is one of the best basic movements for working your entire lower half of your body.
FORWARD AND BACKWARD LEG SWINGS: If you do not have great balance use a secure railing or a table until your balance is improved. You are basically swinging one leg at a time backward and forward while you stand. This give great range of motion for your legs and works your hip flexors, hamstrings, quads and calves.
SIDE LEG SWING CROSS OVERS: Again if balance will be an issue hold a chair or secure railing while you swing one leg at a time from left to right like a pendulum. This works your hips and lower back.
SEATED BUTTERFLY STRETCH: This is not the easiest if you are not agile, but once you incorporate this into your stretching it is so beneficial. You get to sit on this one, but instead of sitting criss-cross, you put the flats of your feet together, holding on to your feet and lean forward keeping your back straight. This works you hips, groin, thighs and knees
RECLINED HIP STRETCH: You can lay down for this stretch! Knees up feet flat, put your right ankle over the left knee and pull the left leg in towards your chest then do opposite. There are various methods online you might want to try.
90/90 HIP STRETCH: Sit on the floor, one leg out in front at a 90 degree angle and the other behind you at a 90 degree angle. Move your upper body forward keeping your back straight to stretch. Switch legs.
HIP ROTATION: This helps your hip joints and flexors. Stand for this one. One leg at a time, lift right leg at 90 degree angle and slowly turn to your right side. Repeat a few times and switch legs
BODY UPS: This exercise is just elevated pushups. Do a pushup against a stable edge like a counter top or secure safe railing. If you are proficient at regular pushups, those are even better! This is a full upper body and ab exercise.
ARM CIRCLES: Simply stand straight and arms straight out to the side. Make circles starting small to large then reverse. This works your shoulders, triceps and upperback
SUPERMANS: Put your cape on for this one. Lay down on your stomach with arms above your head, then all at one time raise your arms and legs and hold. Repeat. This exercise targets full body so it’s a good one. And if you want while you are there do a plank!
CHILD POSE: I would almost do this last or first, since its the most relaxing. Kneel and sit on your knees with your knees slightly apart. Lean forward, fold your arms in front of you on the floor, and rest your forehead on your arms. Inhale and exhale, slowly and deeply, for at least eight breaths. This is a great full back stretch and you can feel it full body also.
KNEES TO CHEST: This can be done while you are laying down for the hip stretch. Lay flat, and just pull one knee in with your hands and hold. Repeat with opposite leg. This stretches your hips and especially your lower back.
NECK STRETCHES: Stand up straight and tilt your head to one side stretching your neck and turn your face out, hold, slowly rotate to the front still stretching your neck then rotate to the other side. Also is great to do after sleet. Helps not only the neck, but the shoulders and upper back.
CROSS BODY SHOULDER STRETCH: Everyone has done this stretch using your arms. Standing tall, bring right arm across your body at chest level, then stretch and pull towards you using your other arm. Hold and repeat on other side.
DO YOU EVEN KNOW HOW TO LIFT BRO?
Hayden Mirambell on the M/V Orange demonstrating proper lifting
We’ve all done it. We’ve quickly picked something off floor, innocently bending over at the waist without thinking and may have had a little twitch in your back. That’s a bad habit since any one of those times you can pull a muscle and feel pain for weeks. When you make this move to bend over and not bend your knees to pick up even a small object, you put tremendous stress on your lower back. Now think of all the heavy objects you pick up on the boat.
The best way to prevent back injuries is to develop good lifting habits that reduce the strain on your back. Risky movements include heavy lifting, twisting at the waist while lifting a heavy load, reaching and lifting, carrying or lifting objects with odd shapes or working in uncomfortable positions that require you to bend over for long periods of time. When you find yourself having to perform one of these movements, take measures to protect your back by using proper lifting techniques.
See Hayden Mirambell’s form in the above photo. He has followed the basic lifting techniques to successfully make the lift and protect his back.
Basic Lifting Technique:
Stretch
Size up the load and check overall conditions. If the load is heavy or awkward, request a team lift*
Make sure the path is clear to safety carry your load to the location and make sure there is a clear place to set down the object.
Get as close to the object as possible.
Use a wide stance with one foot forward and to the side of the object for good balance.
Keep your back straight, push your buttocks out, and use your legs and hips to lower yourself down to the object (squatting position)
Slide the object as close to you as possible.
Put the hand (same side of your body as the forward foot) on the side of the object furthest from you.
Use this basic lifting technique for small objects when you can straddle the load and use a wide stance.
Put the other hand on the side of the object closest to you. Your hands should be on opposite corners.
Grasp the object firmly with both hands.
Prepare for the lift, tighten your core muscles, look forward and upward, keep a straight and strong back.
Lift slowly and follow your head and shoulders. Hold the load close to your body. Lift by extending your legs with your back straight, and breathe out as you lift.
*Remember TEAM LIFTING is a top priority if the object is too heavy or awkward. Always ask for a team lift and coordinate with your crew members
SAFETY FIRST AT HOME TOO!
All of the above information on stretching and lifting safely applies when you are home as well. It's crucial to practice safe lifting not only at home but also during your routine activities in your vehicle, at events, or even while on vacation.
Remember, safety is a continuous effort that should not stop when you are off the boat or out of the office! Calvin and Rory frequently discuss this during our noon calls. Interestingly, a high percentage of injuries occur outside of work hours. Our primary objective is to ensure a safe return home for everyone, and it's equally important for you to prioritize safety during your personal time, both physically and mentally. Upholding safety off the job complements Dupre Marine's on-the-job safety culture.
SAFETY QUIZ:
THIS IS A REQUIREMENT FOR ALL VESSEL EMPLOYEES WORKING DURING THE second QUARTER OF 2024
ALL crew members must answer these questions. This quiz refers to the main safety topic for this Quarter. When you are complete and hit “Submit Answers” you will get a response with your the answers and learning information. This will be a part of your safety compliance.
Heat Index app
The HEAT INDEX APP was downloaded to each vessel phone last year, but please download this free app to your personal phone for quick reference. It will instantly give the temperature, humidity and the “feels like” temperature so you will know what you are up against before your watch. It also gives hourly heat index reading. The Wheelman on watch can set up reminders in the app to alert the Tankermen and Deckhands for hydration and breaks.
Before you start your watch, find out not only the temperature, but what the Real Feel or Feels Like temperature is and the weather conditions.
VENTUSKY APP
Great app for phone or desktop especially for summer storms and hurricane season https://www.ventusky.com/?p=30.07;-93.82;8&l=radar
SHORESIDE FUNNIES: CALVIN’S NEAR MISS
The burgers and sausage were still good! 😂😂😂
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It is the goal of Dupre Marine that all employees work safe hitches and go home to their families after their hitch is completed
DUPRE MARINE’S ANNIVERSARIES for 2024 SECOND Quarter
AS OF APRIL 2024:
Denise Morencie: 6 Years
Ramone Keller: 1 Year
Arthur Bartholomew: 3 Years
James Reinhardt: 1 Year
Alex Landry: 3 Years
AS OF MAY 2024:
Seth Helmer: 5 Years
Trent Stoute: 3 Years
Kannon Brown: 2 Years
Robert “Woody” Stracner: 10 Years
Dennis Parks: 10 Years
Kevin Daigrepont: 11 Years
Jaimen Dupre: 14 Years
Saige Robinson: 4 Years
Rusty Dardar: 2 Years
Josh “Tater” Petroff: 3 Years
Devon Randall: 1 Year
AS OF JUNE 2024:
Gary Simpson: 2 Years
Larry Dupre: 3 Years
Jamie Robichaux: 16 Years
Matt Gisclair: 3 Years
Lynsie Law: 2 Years
company news & updates
If you haven’t already, please join or make changes to your Dupre Marine 401 K plan with Edward Jones. If you have any questions, please call Jamie at the office during office hours. Changes can be made to this plan in writing at the beginning of each Quarter.
Check your mail! Edward Jones will be mailing out info to get your 401K started if you haven’t already.
If you have ANY changes to your personal info, marital/child status, banking info, please let Jamie or Karly know as soon as possible! You can call during office hours or email directly jrobichaux@dupremarine.com or kboudreaux@dupremarine.com. Please also know that any of these changes must come directly from the employee.
We have a new form below for our crew members to order extra uniform items from Karly for payroll deduction.
A reminder ALL deckhands and tankermen who work on any vessel in unit tow service must be clean shaven, regardless if our crew members are tanking or shore tankermen are utilized. Any wheelmen with facial hair must be neat and trimmed as specified by Calvin or Frank for the customer requirements. This is a DMT policy as well as our customers’ policy. It is for your safety.
Stop right now and check the expiration dates on all your credentials (MMC, Medical Card, TWIC, Drivers License, etc). Although we track your info in Helm, lately it is not enough time before expiration. With your time on the boat and the time it takes to get the process done, you could expire and not be able to work. It could take a couple months to several months. Please get with Karly if you need any help with your MMC. And here is the link to renew your TWIC card online https://universalenroll.dhs.gov/programs/twic
This is your livelihood, your career, so keep track of it please!
Do you get stuff shipped to the office for crew change? We are more than happy to get your packages to the vessel, but please help us out and text/call/email to let us know when it is coming so we can look out for it.
Complete all your current and due Moxie online training. This is a compliance requirement, audit requirement and also tied into your Safety Reward Points that will be distributed near the beginning of each quarter
For those who are new or may not know, this website and our social media pages are filled with photos and videos sent in mostly by our crew members or Frank, Jeremy and other towboaters. If you have photos you want to share, please send them to Denise via text, email or dm on our Instagram or Facebook pages. If you haven’t done so, please check out all the amazing contributions on all our socials and this website. And we are on TikTok @dupremarinetowboats for any video contributions!
If any of our crew members would like to contribute content to future newsletters, please email Denise dmorencie@dupremarine.com
Office hours are 0800-1700 Monday to Friday, please note the times you contact shoreside during off hours when it is not urgent. If it can wait until office hours, please call then, and of course if it is urgent call the necessary contact for the problem.
uniform orders
This form is only for vessel employees for Dupre Marine Transportation. Uniform gear listed are for Dupre Marine crew members only. No other orders will be accepted and form will be discarded if not a current employee or outside the company.
submit NEAR MISses OR STOP WORK RESPONSIBILITY
We always track all Near Miss and Stop Work entries submitted by our crew members, but this year we are focusing on how many near misses are submitted by each boat per month and sending those numbers to the boats. We are doing great so far, so lets keep it up and surpass all other years. And submitting a Stop Work Responsibility is such an important safety tool. As Calvin noted in the last news letter, “Stop Work Responsibility is important because it empowers employees at all levels immediately. It doesn’t matter what your position is, how long you have been employed at the company, or even your overall experience level in the industry. Everyone has the tool, and it is everyone’s responsibility to use it when circumstances dictate. Stop Work removes the red tape and forces everyone to take a look at the hazards.”
pump up those numbers!
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pump up those numbers! 〰️
Remember to submit your Near Misses and Stop Work Responsibilities in Helm regularly. They are not only strong safety learning tools, but also recognized in the charter group and rewarded from Kirby Inland Marine. An important recognition!
know the correct PPE for any job
⚠️ If you have any questions concerning your PPE, please contact Port Captain Frank Bumgarden
⚠️ Always be ready to work wearing the proper PPE and wearing it correctly! Your PPE will NOT protect you if it is not the correct type, is damaged or worn and if is not on correctly and adjusted properly!
⚠️ Be responsible and know what PPE is required to use in your particular work situation Check yourself and ask yourself if you have on what is needed and required to be safe for that job
⚠️ Steel toe boots are required footwear. All Dupre Marine crew members will get $100 towards new boots: all deck crew every 6 months and wheelhouse every year. Please get with Lynsie or Michael when you need to purchase new steel toe boots. We use Joe’s Boots in Houma, which we will payroll deduct the amount over $100 or you may purchase elsewhere and submit your receipt to Lynsie or Michael for a reimbursement up to $100. We are now tracking boot purchases. Deck crew this is an important part of your PPE, so please make sure your boots are in good shape always. Captains, please inspect the boots of your crew regularly. If you have any questions, please contact Frank.
Rory’s Favorite Quote to our Dupre Marine Team: