Local Roots, Global Reach

With 125 operations across the globe, SSA Marine is one of the largest shipping terminal operators and stevedores in the world. Our regional offices and international operations extend across the United States and Latin America, as well as to South Africa, New Zealand, and Vietnam.

Our roots reach back to 1949 when Fred R. Smith, the patriarch of the two families who would own and operate the company for the remainder of the 20th century, formed Bellingham Stevedoring Company, the foundation upon which SSA Marine was built.

Today, SSA Marine and our affiliates operate more cargo terminals than any other company in the world.

Worldwide, SSA Marine employs 13,000 people speaking 30 languages. In Washington state, we employ 700 full-time union and non-union employees and another 400 union employees part-time. In 2010, we paid $115 million in wages to Washington state union members.

Few transportation service companies in the world extend as far and wide as SSA Marine, but we continue to look for new opportunities at ports and intermodal facilities around the world – and we strive to ensure that our size and global network of resources continue to add value for our customers.

Built on the foundation of three generations of Northwest families, we are proud to be called, “the most significant success story in the independent stevedoring industry.”