They came from the streets of Brooklyn, from the ranks of the US Coast Guard, from the legal community and from the staff of the Marshall Islands registry.

They came to the ornate ballroom inside the Harvard Club to celebrate the joy and vigor with which Antonio Litman lived his life, and the charity he bestowed upon others.

A packed audience of more than 200 guests – a Who’s Who of the New York maritime community including luminaries like shipowner Peter Georgiopoulos – came to say farewell to the longtime assistant to International Registries Inc managing partner Clay Maitland.