Crowley Maritime

Crowley Maritime Corporation

Crowley vessel seen from the shores of Puerto Rico, photographed by USACE
Type	Private corporation
Founded	1892; 129 years ago (1892) San Francisco, California
Founder	Thomas Crowley
Headquarters	Jacksonville, Florida , United States
Services	Transportation, Logistics
Revenue	$2.2 billion USD (2015)
Number of employees	5,300
Website	www.crowley.com

Crowley Maritime Corporation, is based in Jacksonville, Florida.^[1] Founded in 1892, Crowley is primarily a family- and employee-owned vessel management, owner, and supply chain logistics services company, providing services globally. As of July 2016, Crowley was ranked as the 13th largest private company in Florida, employing approximately 5,300 people worldwide with revenues of $2.2 billion.^[2] It provides its services using a fleet of more than 300 vessels, consisting of RO-RO vessels, LO-LO vessels, tankers, Articulated Tug-Barges (ATBs), tugs and barges. Crowley's land-based facilities and equipment include terminals, warehouses, tank farms, and specialized vehicles.^[3]

History[]

Crowley was founded in 1892^[4] when founder Thomas Crowley,^[5] the grandfather of current Chairman, President and CEO Thomas B. Crowley, Jr., purchased an 18-foot Whitehall Rowboat to provide transportation of personnel and supplies to ships anchored on San Francisco Bay. Within a few years, services broadened to include bay wing and ship assistance services. In addition to acquiring larger vessels, the company expanded in the 1920s into Los Angeles Harbor with tugboats for ship assists and into Puget Sound with tug and barge transportation. Bulk petroleum transportation joined the list of company services in 1939.

In 1958, Crowley moved into Arctic transportation with an agreement to resupply the U.S. government’s Distant Early Warning Line on the Alaska coastline. It was the first penetration of the Arctic by commercial tug and barge services. This led to Crowley’s Alaska common carrier services whereby railcar, breakbulk, containerized and bulk petroleum cargoes were delivered to more than 130 villages, many of which lacked docking facilities.

Beginning in 1968, utilizing the earlier pioneering experience in the Arctic, Crowley began summer sealifts of equipment, supplies, buildings and production modules to Prudhoe Bay. Since then, 334 barges carrying nearly 1.3 million tons of cargo have been successfully delivered to the North Slope, including modules the size of ten story buildings and weighing nearly 6,000 tons.

In the 1970s, Crowley began transporting cargo between the U.S. and Puerto Rico and later expanded into the rest of the Caribbean, Central America and South America. The service primarily consisted of ships and large, triple-deck barges, some of which were 730 feet in length, carrying cargo in trailers and containers.

In 1973, the American Tugboat Company was acquired by the Crowley Launch and Tugboat Company of San Francisco, California, and merged into their subsidiary operation, the Puget Sound Tug and Barge Company of Seattle, Washington.

In 1989, Crowley tugs were first on the scene of the crippled tanker Exxon Valdez in Prince William Sound, Alaska. The Exxon Valdez oil spill was the second largest in U.S. history (after Deepwater Horizon, 2010) and Crowley was the prime supplier of marine equipment and personnel for the cleanup. To try to avoid future disasters, the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company contracted with Crowley to provide tanker assistance and escort work in Valdez and Prince William Sound using tugs with “best available technology.”

In mid-1994, the top leadership of the corporation changed for only the second time in more than 100 years. Following the passing of his father, Thomas B. Crowley, Jr. was unanimously elected president, chairman of the board, and chief executive officer.

In January 2010, Crowley Liner Services reached an undisclosed settlement with plaintiffs (shippers) who had alleged violations of United States and Puerto Rican antitrust laws. The company publicly denied violating the antitrust laws but said it wanted to be rid of the high cost and burden of litigation, which they expected to continue for several more years. In 2011, Crowley was fined $17,000,000 and plead guilty to one federal price fixing charge for conduct arising out of illegal agreements between Crowley and its competitors in the Puerto Rico freight market. Despite the settlement, in May 2015, a Puerto Rican jury acquitted Thomas Farmer, former vice president of price and yield management for Crowley Liner Services, of violating the Sherman Act by allegedly conspiring to suppress and eliminate competition for freight services to the island.

In 2010, following the 7.0 Haiti earthquake that affected more than 3 million people and caused major damage in Port-au-Prince, Crowley (working under contract with the U.S. Transportation Command [USTRANSCOM]), re-established cargo operations in Haiti, allowing humanitarian relief from multiple shippers to enter the country.^[6][7] Crowley and its employees then donated $80,000 to the American Red Cross in support of Haiti relief efforts^[8] and transported an estimated 15,000 emergency housing units to the island.

In Dec. 2010, Crowley's Alaska fuel sales and distribution enterprise added eight Shell Oil service stations to its wholesale network. Under the agreement, Crowley had responsibility for the wholesale purchases of Shell motor fuel and transporting, distributing and selling the fuel to 17 independently owned and operated sites in Alaska.^[9]

In 2011, Crowley took delivery of the first of several articulated tug barge (ATB) tank vessels.

In the last 20 years, Crowley has shed some of its businesses, including its Red & White Fleet passenger ferry services in San Francisco and its South America shipping services, while expanding in other areas through a series of acquisitions. Crowley bought Marine Transport Corporation, a petroleum and chemical transportation company; Speed Cargo Services, a non-vessel operating common carrier (NVOCC); Apparel Transportation, a Central America logistics services provider to the apparel industry, Yukon Fuel Company and Service Oil and Gas, which are Alaska-based fuel distribution and sales companies, TITAN Salvage, a worldwide salvage and emergency response company, Jensen Maritime Consultants, a Seattle-based Naval Architecture & Marine Engineering firm, and Customized Brokers, a Miami-based customs clearance company specializing in perishable, refrigerated cargoes.

In 2018, VT Halter Maritime delivered the first of two Commitment Class, LNG-powered ConRo ships, the El Coquí. The ship measures 219.5m long with a 26,500 deadweight tons. It can transport up to 2,400 TEU at a cruising speed of 22 knots.^[10] The Coquí sister ship, Taino, was delivered in January 2019.

The business was incorporated in the State of Delaware as "Crowley Maritime Corporation" on December 1, 1972.^[5] The present structure, in which Crowley Maritime Corporation is a holding company for the business lines, was put in place in 1992. The Company is predominantly owned by members of the Crowley family and company employees, and its stock does not trade on any national stock exchange or in any market. Revenue in 2009 was nearly $1.6 billion.

Business services[]

Crowley operates under four main arms:

• Crowley Logistics: Logistics and liner shipping services, freight forwarding and project logistics, land transportation, air freight, customs brokerage and cold storage.
• Crowley Shipping: Global ship management, harbor ship assist and tanker escort, ocean towing and barge transportation, and petroleum and chemical transportation.
• Crowley Solutions: Government and military services (DFTS), marine solutions^[buzzword], offshore engineering, vessel design and engineering (through Jensen Maritime), vessel construction management, and marine salvage and wreck removal (through Ardent Global).
• Crowley Fuels: Liquefied natural gas transportation and distribution, and many fuel-relates services throughout Alaska.

The primary services offered by these business lines include:

Liner services[]

Crowley operates ocean cargo carrier services between the United States and Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, Central America, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba. Services include regularly scheduled liner operations for cargo shipped in containers and/or trailers; rolling stock such as cars, trucks, buses and construction equipment; breakbulk, heavy lift and over-dimensional items via their fleet of specialty equipment and Lo/Lo and Ro/Ro vessels.

Logistics[]

As a third-party logistics provider (3PL), Crowley offers supply chain management and transportation management services including: freight forwarding, ocean, inland, and air transportation, customs house brokerage, cargo insurance and warehousing and distribution. In 2008, Crowley acquired Miami-based Customized Brokers, a customs clearance company specializing in refrigerated cargoes arriving by air and sea.

Energy support services[]

Crowley has long-term relationships with many energy companies, providing exploration and production solutions.^[buzzword] Services include upstream logistics, shorebase services, ocean towing and transportation, marine engineering, offshore construction support, Alaska Energy support services, specialized cargo transport, remote crude storage and Environmental, Safety and Quality Assurance.

Crowley has also developed a system for transporting cargos and personnel to remote roadless areas, across Alaska's tundra, using specialized all-terrain vehicles called CATCOs that essentially float across the fragile tundra with low-pressure air bags. These tires help distribute the weight over a large area thus minimizing terrain impact. Crowley operation areas extend from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska to the Gulf of Mexico to Sakhalin Island in the Russia Far East.

Project management[]

Crowley's project management group manages logistics for complex construction, engineering and infrastructure projects. Capabilities include project management, project logistics, subcontractor vetting, selection and management, web-enabled material tracking, comprehensive marine transportation for single pallet up to a 6,000-ton module, and beach/job site landing design. The group also provides heavy lift discharge and delivery, inland transportation and logistics, air freight services, health, safety and environmental programs, and global site logistics.

Ocean towing and transportation[]

Crowley provides ocean towing, transportation and logistics services for general cargo movements, offshore production components, including jackets and modules, ship tows and other projects requiring heavy lift or specialized marine transportation services.

Petroleum and chemical transportation[]

Crowley is one of the largest independent operators of petroleum barges and tankers in the U.S. The company provides chemical parcel transportation and bulk petroleum transportation throughout the North American coasts, Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico and to a lesser degree internationally. Crowley's tank vessels include ships, articulated tug and barge units (ATBs), and conventional tug and barges. Ships and articulated barges range in size from 20,000 deadweight tonnage (DWT) to 50,000 DWT, while Crowleys U.S. West Coast coastal tank barges and Alaska line haul fleet range from 5,500 DWT to 16,200 DWT. All Crowley tank vessels operate under ISM / ISO 9002 standards.

Alaska fuel sales and distribution[]

Crowley has served Alaska's Arctic and coastal areas, handling fuel and freight beginning in 1896 as Black Navigation, sailing in Prince William Sound and expanding service to the Yukon River and Tanana River in 1916. The company serves the State of Alaska, from the North Arctic Slope to South Central Alaska, coastal communities, and inland communities, including those along the Kuskokwim River and Yukon River. Crowley also sells and delivers lubricants and other petroleum products along the central Alaska highway system. The company also transports general cargo on combination fuel and freight barges between marine/fuel terminals and remote sites.

Ship assist and escort[]

Crowley provides tug towing services in Oakland, San Diego and Los Angeles, California, as well as Seattle and Tacoma, Washington consisting of escort and docking services for tankers, container ships and other vessels as they enter and depart from the harbors. Tugs in Valdez, Alaska and North Puget Sound assist large tankers and provide both tethered and untethered escort services. Crowley tugs based in these areas are outfitted for firefighting services, and barges based in Valdez also provide oil spill response services.

Salvage and emergency response[]

TITAN Salvage, a Crowley company, was a worldwide marine salvage and wreck removal company based in Houston, Texas, that performed over 350 salvage and wreck removal projects. The company also had offices and equipment depots in Newhaven, U.K. and Singapore. In addition to marine salvage and wreck removal services, TITAN performed marine firefighting, vessel/ship lightering, underwater fuel removal, damage stability and other rapid marine emergency response services for the maritime industry..

On 21 April 2012, it was announced TITAN,^[11] with its partner company, Micoperi, an Italian firm specializing in subsea engineering solutions^[buzzword],^[12] had been awarded the contract by Costa Crociere to refloat and tow away the Costa Concordia to the port of Genoa to be scrapped.

On 21 April 2015, Crowley and A.P. Moller–Maersk Group announced the merger of their respective salvage divisions, TITAN and Svitzer Salvage, to form a company operating as Ardent Global. Ardent is based in Houston and its chief executive officer is Peter Pietka.^[13]

Marine technical consulting[]

Crowley's technical services group provides a full range of services from vessel concept design and shipyard management to operation, repair and maintenance of the vessel after delivery; customers can utilize Crowley throughout the entire life of a vessel or for selective services at any point in the process. In 2008, Crowley acquired Seattle-based naval architecture and marine engineering firm Jensen Maritime Consultants.

Ship management[]

Crowley is a vessel manager operating its own fleet as well as vessels for government and commercial clients. The group provides ship management services including chartering, maintenance and repair, crewing, Safety, Quality and Environmental Assurance, vetting, insurance, procurement, drydocking, regulatory surveys, bunkering and accounting.

Notable Incidents[]

September 21, 2011[]

On September 21, 2011 a Crowley Maritime barge carrying 140,000 gallons of aviation fuel and 5,800 gallons of gasoline broke away from a tugboat during rough seas near the western coast of Alaska.^[14] Control of the barge was regained later that afternoon.^[15]

References[]

External links[]

• Crowley corporate web site
• Crowley's TITAN Salvage subsidiary
• Crowley's Customized Brokers subsidiary
• Crowley's Jensen Maritime Consultants subsidiary
• Guide to the Crowley Maritime Corporation Records at The Bancroft Library