Reinauer Transportation Companiess is a family-owned group of maritime companies that was started in 1923 by Bert Reinauer. The company quickly faced, and survived, the Great Depression, and grew through the years as demand increased for its services. Today, Reinauer has more than two dozen tugboats and barges. It also has the SENESCO shipyard in North Kingstown, Rhode Island and a marine construction firm in this port (Reicon).

It’s hard to miss a Reinauer vessel on the water. The fleet has been nicknamed the Peanut Butter and Jelly fleet because of its livery, which combines the standard black hull with everything above that painted in wide bands of a bright red (jelly) with a dark buff (peanut butter). Even the railings and visors over the tug wheelhouses are white.

The new Josephine and Kristy Ann look a lot like their forebearers, but it’s in the engine room where they differ. These are the first in the fleet to be powered by Tier 4 engines, and the first Reinauer tugs with Nautican nozzles that improve efficiency by 8 to 10 percent. They’re also the first in the fleet to feature isolation mounts on their medium-speed engines.

With nearly 400 employees, Reinauer Transportation Companies is a large employer in the Staten Island area. The company has a diverse workforce that includes both women and men, with more than a third of its employees being minorities. Its employee retention rate is above average, with employees staying with the company for 2.9 years on average. The company pays its employees well, with an average salary of $57,298 per year.