Page 11 - Port of Baltimore - Issue 3 - 2024

8 BELLS
In Memoriam: Gloria Tosi
BY JEFF TOSI, Son of Gloria Tosi
Gloria Cataneo Tosi, a fierce and tenacious advocate of U.S.-flag ship- ping and the U.S. merchant marine, passed away peacefully in her home in Lutherville on March 5. She was 78.
A native Baltimorean, Gloria
was introduced to the shipping industry through her father, Michael Cataneo, whose father founded and ran a very successful line-handling business at the Port of Baltimore. The firm became a fixture in
the Baltimore Harbor for seven decades. At a young age, Gloria would go with her father to see his part of the Port operations.
The Cataneo family’s close
ties with future Congresswoman Helen Delich Bentley, and Gloria’s familiarity with the Port of Baltimore and the maritime world, brought Gloria to her first professional role — in 1969 as an aide to Mrs. Bentley upon President Richard Nixon appointing her as the first woman Chair of the Federal Maritime Commission. For Gloria, this began a decades-long partnership working to support the U.S. maritime industry, from ports to longshoremen to U.S.- flag shipping vessels in domestic and
international commerce.
In 1975, Gloria became the
Government Affairs Director for
the International Longshoremen’s Association and, in 1981, she was appointed legislative director at the American Maritime Congress (AMC), a Washington, DC-based advocacy organization representing U.S.-flag shipping and our nation’s merchant mariners that has been in existence since 1977 and has been a leading voice on Capitol Hill for all maritime- related legislation considered by the federal government. In 1991, Gloria ascended to the role of CEO and,
in 2000, the AMC board appointed Gloria to be the organization’s president, a post she held until her retirement in 2006.
During her 25-year tenure
leading AMC and under Gloria’s leadership, the maritime world saw some significant victories. Former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott summed it up best when, upon Gloria’s retirement, he paid tribute to her on the floor of the U.S. Senate: “From the Maritime Security Act of 1995, to the Ocean Shipping Reform Act of 1998, to the Maritime Security Act of 2003, and including many provisions included in other laws, she helped ensure that the U.S. maritime industry’s concerns were addressed. Equally important, she ensured that the industry’s concerns were understood when legislation was proposed that would have had a
negative impact on the industry.” She also led the way in forming
public-private coalitions to defend cargo preference and was a stalwart supporter of cargo preference
laws such as the Military Cargo Preference Act of 1904, which requires that 100% of cargo bought for the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marine Corps be carried on U.S.-flag vessels, and the Cargo Preference Act of 1954, which requires that 50% of civilian agencies’ cargo and agricultural cargo be carried on U.S.- flag vessels.
Perhaps most significantly of
all, one of the hallmarks of Gloria’s career was fighting to attain veteran status for U.S. Merchant Mariners who served during World War II. She led the charge and was recognized for it on Veterans Day in 2023. 
personal devices had been confiscated by the FBI as part of its investigation into the crash.
As for the seven other vessels that were stuck at the Port before a channel could be open to allow them to pass, Messick visited them “not quite every day, but it came close to that.”
One of the ships, the JY River, celebrated its bosun’s birthday days before the vessel was able to depart — with the help of a birthday cake delivered by the Seafarers’ Center. 
HELP SUPPORT
THE MISSIONS
You can also donate baked goods, packaged snacks, postcards for seafarers to send to their loved ones and more, though you should be sure to contact the organizations before providing such donations.
For those hoping to help support the missions of the Seafarers’ Center and the Apostleship of the Sea, you will find donation links at www.baltseafarers.org and www.archbalt.org/ apostleship-of-the-sea.
To subscribe or renew, visit www.marylandports.com [9]