Jürgen Schröder Named as Greater Houston Port Bureau’s 2024 Maritime Leader of the Year 

The Greater Houston Port Bureau (“Port Bureau”) is pleased to announce that Jürgen Schröder, founder of Schröder Marine Services, Inc. (“Schröder Marine”), has been named the 2024 Maritime Leader of the Year. Schröder will be honored at the Port Bureau’s Annual Maritime Dinner on August 24, 2024. The Port Bureau Board of Directors named Schröder as the 2024 honoree for his staunch service to Houston’s maritime community and for being a champion of seafarer welfare.  

Schröder’s maritime career started a young deck boy/able body seaman on the Deutsche West Afrika Line. Over the next 65 years he built a well-deserved reputation as a dedicated leader and industry expert, founding Schröder Marine Services, a stevedore and terminal operator company in the port of Houston, in 1986. 

“Jürgen’s lifetime of service to the port region and his passion for the welfare of everyone, whether onshore or onboard a vessel, is unparalleled. It is a privilege to recognize him as our 2024 Maritime Leader of the Year,” said Vincent DiCosimo, chairman of the Greater Houston Port Bureau. 

During the COVID-19 pandemic, vessel crews went many months without leaving their ships. Schröder was instrumental in organizing local industry efforts to bring aid and resources, including vaccines, for the thousands of seafarers confined to vessels calling in Houston.  

Schröder has also been as an active member of the Port Bureau since 1978, serving as a director, a member of the executive committee, and past president of the board of directors (1981-1983). He is an active member of the Houston International Seafarers’ Center, serving on their board since 1985 and as board president from 1992-1993.  

“I have believed in building commitment and trust in my relationship with others throughout my life, whether it was working onboard a ship in my younger years, raising my family, or servicing our clients at Schröder Marine.  Trust and relationship-building is not limited to clients or family, but it extends to those like our fellow seafarers coming into our great port,” said Schröder. “The Annual Maritime Dinner is a way we celebrate the strong values that make our unique maritime community thrive.” 

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 and an essential economic engine for the Houston region, the state of Texas, and the U.S. Expansion of the Houston Ship Channel and improvements of the public facilities ensures its continued economic impacts. 

Over 750 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 David Grzebinski, CEO of Kirby Marine Services, Port Houston Commission Chairman Ric Campo, Jim Teague, Co-CEO of Enterprise Products Partners L.P., ExxonMobil, and Shell Oil Company. 

The Annual Maritime Dinner is supported by Queen of the Fleet sponsors Buffalo Marine Service, Inc., Enterprise Products Partners L.P., Kinder Morgan, Moran Shipping Agencies, Inc., Port Houston, 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. 

About the Greater Houston Port Bureau 

The Greater Houston Port Bureau helps over 250 member companies work together to promote cooperation and efficiency within the maritime community by providing vessel information, port information, networking, and advocacy. 

About Schröder Marine Services, Inc. 

Schröder Marine Services is a stevedore and terminal operator in the port of Houston, specializing in the handling of break-bulk, project cargo, heavy lift, and roll-on/roll-off cargo. They focus on creating custom, tailored solutions for each client. Building on the principle that business should grow on solid relationships and long-standing trust, the Schröder family has established that trust with their clients for nearly four decades, with a dedication to high standards of service.