Peter Zwart remembered during Delta Teresa christening

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Baydelta Maritime has a tradition of naming its tugboats after its owners’ wives and daughters. Delta Teresa, named for Teresa Zwart, the wife of Baydelta’s late vice president of operations, Peter Zwart, represents a break from that tradition.

Zwart was instrumental in Delta Teresa’s construction and outfitting, and he performed similar work on other Baydelta tugs through the years. Zwart died unexpectedly in January at age 68, and he never saw his final boat to completion.

Speaking through her daughter, Teresa Zwart described the May 4 christening at San Francisco’s Pier 17 as a bittersweet day.

Shawn Bennett

Although it fulfilled one of her husband’s longtime wishes to see a vessel named in her honor, his absence was felt by dozens of friends and former colleagues gathered for the ceremony.

“Everyone leaves behind something when they die … something their hand has touched,” she said. “For my late husband Peter, that something is his tugboats.”

Matt Nichols of Nichols Brothers Boat Building and Baydelta CEO Shawn Bennett were among the speakers who praised Zwart during the christening ceremony. Teresa Zwart capped the event by breaking a ceremonial bottle of champagne against the tugboat’s sturdy steel hull.

By Professional Mariner Staff