Behind everything on your shelves, gas in your tank, and food on your table is a workforce most of us never see.

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I grew up in Portland near the river port, so maritime operations fascinated me from a young age. I then spent 10 years in South Korea working in international business, development economics, and around the shipbuilding industry. In the process, I've learned that most of us take for granted both the complexity and importance of the maritime world — not just shipping, but the tankers moving our fuel, the offshore platforms extracting it, and the fishing fleets bringing in our food.  Everything from the goods on our store shelves to the gas at the pump to the fish on our plate moves through this system, but the process and the people behind that abundance are invisible.

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And this world is so complex that no single person understands the entire system. A tugboat captain might know the harbor channels perfectly, but once the vessel docks, she's an outsider watching longshoremen do their work. An offshore driller knows the rig; a commercial fisherman knows the boat and the water; a port pilot knows the channel. Everyone has deep expertise in their piece, but the full picture only emerges when you document all those pieces together.

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This project – which will take shape as a large-format photo book – makes visible the skilled professionals and coordination behind the goods we buy, the fuel we burn, and the food we eat. From the outside, this world seems harsh and industrial. Up close, you see real people doing incredibly important, complex, beautiful work.

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Inspired by Rose George's Ninety Percent of Everything, Marc Levinson's The Box, and Bill Sharpsteen's The Docks, this documentary series profiles the captains, engineers, drillers, deckhands, fishermen, longshoremen, and maritime professionals whose expertise keeps goods, fuel, and food moving.

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Featured Operations: APM Terminals, Foss Maritime, BayDelta Maritime, SA Recycling, Curtin Maritime, Jacobsen Pilots, TraPac, and more on the calendar.

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Participate in This Project: If your company operates in the maritime, offshore energy, or commercial fishing world, I want to hear from you.

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This is self-funded editorial work so there's no cost to participate. I work with your team to document operations safely and efficiently.

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Contact: aaron@aaronmckenzie.net | 949.241.4023

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