Four decades ago, Saltchuk Resources was a company focused on two vessels on a back-and-forth run from Washington state to Alaska.

Fast-forward to today, and it is a multibillion-dollar maritime and logistics empire that controls dozens of companies and employs 8,500 staff.

And with the addition of its seventh business unit in the takeover of Overseas Shipholding Group (OSG) that values the tanker owner at $950m, the privately held Seattle conglomerate has shown it has the financial firepower to continue its growth path.