Crowley Marine News

Naval architecture and marine engineering firm Elliott Bay Design Group (EBDG) said its board of directors has appointed Robert Ekse as president of the firm. Ekse will assume the position from current president and chief engineer, Brian King, who is retiring after 33 years of service. King will remain active in EBDG projects in a limited capacity, accepting the role as principal emeritus."Brian will be deeply missed, but his many accomplishments will be a reminder of his contributions to our industry…

Crowley Marine Services Inc. has sold one of its 7,200BHP Invader series tugs, Hunter, to private buyers in Washington.The vessel was built in 1976 and was the 21st Invader Class tug constructed for Crowley by McDermott Shipyard in Amelia, La. The tug measures 136.2’ loa x 36.5' beam x 19.2' depth.Often referred to as the “fastest tug in the Puget Sound” due to its frequent tug race wins at the Seattle Maritime Festival, Hunter is powered by twin EMD 20-645E5 diesels with Falk 4.345:1 gears driving two 132" x 82-88" 5-blade stainless props.

US-based Crowley Maritime Corp. announced on Wednesday that it has realigned its marine services organization and introduced new leadership.In a move that aims to provide better support to customers, Crowley Marine Services, part of the company’s shipping arm, will now be comprised of three distinct, yet interrelated business segments: offshore services, ship assist and tanker escort and engineering services – those provided by Crowley and subsidiary Jensen Maritime Consultants.Jeff Andreini…

The U.S. towing and tug business is 5,500 boats, more than 31,000 barges with an estimated total impact on U.S. GDP of $33.8 billion.“At a macro level, the bigger ships are causing downward pressure on the ship assist business because there are fewer ship calls given the increased capacity of these vessels. However, certain ports have seen tremendous growth, based on strategic location and infrastructure investments that have attracted these larger ships and been a net plus for these areas.”Kate Fuhrman…

Crowley Fuels LLC has signed a contract with Bollinger Shipyards for the construction of a new 100,000-barrel-capacity articulated tug-barge (ATB) to transport multiple clean petroleum products in the Alaska market. The Alaska-class vessel will be built at Bollinger Marine Fabricators Shipyard, in Amelia, La., with an expected delivery in the fourth quarter of 2019. The build contract includes an option for a second ATB. Once built and deployed, Crowley will operate the ATB under a long-term charter with Alaska-based Petro Star Inc.…

Crowley Marine Services said it will relocate the tugboat Veteran to the Port of Los Angeles/Long Beach to service all vessels, including large petroleum tank vessels with deep drafts greater than 65 feet calling on Long Beach Berth 121. With a bollard pull rating of over 90 short tons, the powerful Veteran is better suited to serve the very large crude carriers (VLCCs) that are calling more regularly in Long Beach. Tesoro and the Long Beach Pilots are now requiring a tug with…

Eighty-seven vessels owned or managed by Crowley Maritime Corporation recently received the Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA)’s annual Jones F. Devlin Awards in recognition of their 2016 safety records. Each year, the CSA grants Devlin Award certificates to manned merchant vessels that have operated for two or more years without incurring a Lost Time Injury (LTI), highlighting the skills and dedication of the crewmembers responsible for safe vessel operations. Crowley’s 2016 Devlin Award-worthy vessels together have achieved 670 years of service without an LTI.

Three new ship-to-shore cranes that were constructed in Ireland were delivered to Crowley Puerto Rico Services’ Isla Grande Terminal in San Juan on Wednesday. The cranes are a key element of the $130 million Crowley is investing in infrastructure improvements to its Isla Grande Terminal, and their arrival marks the first time new, specialized gantry cranes have been received for operation in the San Juan Harbor in five decades. “With the delivery of these state-of-the-art cranes…

Crowley Maritime Corp.’s newest combination container/Roll on-Roll off (ConRo) ship has been launched at the VT Halter Marine shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss. for the Crowley’s service between Jacksonville, Fla., and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Named El Coquí after a beloved frog native to Puerto Rico, the ConRo is one of the world’s first to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). The ship will now proceed through the final topside construction and testing phase before beginning service in the U.S. Jones Act trade during the second half of 2017.

San Francisco’s Jensen-designed super pumping fireboat is like none that came before her. As a result, the City by the Bay is prepared like never before, for its next crisis. Christened on October 17, appropriately enough on the anniversary of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake, the city of San Francisco’s first new fireboat in almost 60 years is an especially unique boat, designed and built for a specific purpose. When the infamous quake burst the domestic water lines beneath San Francisco, it left local firefighters scrambling for a water source from which they could fight the fires that ensued. Today, Fireboat 3 – named locally by a young grade school student as the St.

Crowley Marine Services has sold a 205’ x 90’ x 15’ former ice-strengthened, icebreaker / cargo barge, Arctic Endeavor, to Tagiuk LLC., the ship broker Marcon International, Inc. reported. The 3,029mtdw barge was built in 1982 by Gunderson Bros. to support resupply sailings to ports in the Arctic while being pushed by two 2,100HP Point-Class tugs. The barge was unique in having a wide spoon shaped bow tapering aft from 90’ at its widest point at frame 25, a tapered hull under the waterline and a reinforced ice step. The Arctic Endeavor was converted in 1999 by Duwamish Shipyard to an ABS +A1, ice classed, double-hull oil response barge for use in the Beaufort Sea, northeast of Deadhorse, Alaska. The barge was laid up in Puget Sound at the time of the sale.

As the City of San Francisco commissions its latest fireboat today, the vessel, designed by Seattle-based Jensen Maritime Consultants, exemplifies the evolution and growth of the naval architecture and marine engineering firm since it was acquired by Crowley Maritime Corp. in 2008. “Eight years ago I’m not sure this project would have been in our sweet spot,” said Johan Sperling, vice president of Crowley’s marine solutions group, which includes Jensen. “But over the past eight years, Crowley has made a considerable effort to give us all the tools we need to expand into new areas. “It’s one thing to be able to design a good looking boat, but if it can’t be built efficiently and cost effectively, and if it doesn’t operate the way it is supposed to, what do you really have?” said Sperling.

Jagco Industries is a manufacturer of Flexible metal hose assemblies for automotive, Inland Marine, industrial, trucking & Rail. It also manufactures “UNI-FLEX” exhaust couplers for cars & trucks. More familiar to workboat clients, the firm also manufactures Expansion Joints, Pump Connectors, and Exhaust Assemblies for Marine, Industrial & Rail. Jagco produced the first USA Made aftermarket flexible exhaust coupler for cars & trucks. Their equipment is sold through a network of warehouse distributors across the nation.

The hallmarks of a successful vessel operator are the same whether they are carrying liquid, physical or human cargo: A laser focus on safety, a twin commitment to customers and crew, and the vision to embrace and invest in the future. However obvious the bar, it is not easy to meet. “I don’t think there is any magic formula,” says Rob Grune, senior vice president and general manager, petroleum services, Crowley Marine Solutions. “The difference is that everything we work on regards providing a high quality of service to customers, pays off. In a rising market, it’s easy to do well.

Crowley Maritime Corporation christened the third of four new LNG-ready Jones Act product tankers at a May 5 ceremony at the Julia Street Cruise Terminal in New Orleans. The 600-foot-long, 50,000-dead-weight-ton (dwt), 330,000-barrel-capacity MT Louisiana is capable of carrying crude oil or refined petroleum products, as well as other chemical products for U.S. Coastwise trade. The new vessel joins Crowley sister ships, Ohio and Texas, to be the first tankers ever to receive the American Bureau of Shipping’s LNG-Ready Level 1 approval…

Crowley Maritime Corp. has taken delivery of Louisiana, the third of four new, Jones Act product tankers being built for the company by Philly Shipyard, Inc. (PSI), the sole operating subsidiary of Philly Shipyard ASA. The delivery marks another highpoint for Crowley’s petroleum services group as its tankers are at the forefront of the industry for their potential future conversion to LNG propulsion. Louisiana, which is 50,000 dead-weight-tons (dwt) and capable of carrying 330,000-barrels of product, is scheduled to be christened in New Orleans on May 5.

Press Release: Crowley Marine Services will not be providing oil spill prevention and response services in Valdez and Prince William Sound when its contract expires June 30, 2018. Crowley has provided marine services in Prince William Sound since 1990. Despite bidding aggressively for the SERVS contract extension, Crowley was not chosen by Alyeska to retain the entire scope of the current contract. Crowley is fully committed to continued professional service and full compliance as the marine service provider until the end of June 2018, and will be engaged in any transition process.

101 Crowley Vessels Honored with Environmental Awards in Recognition of 984 Combined Years of Safe Operations. More than 100 Crowley Maritime Corporation-owned and -operated vessels were honored with Certificates of Environmental Achievement for years of safe operations during the recent 12th-annual Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA) awards ceremony, held at the Ronald Reagan Building and International Trade Center in Washington D.C. Each of Crowley’s honored vessels received the certificates for having worked at least two consecutive years without an environmental incident.

Crowley Maritime Corporation says it has entered a partnership with Future Care, Inc. to ensure that the company’s active mariners are receiving the best possible health care while at sea. The “Caring for the Crew” program provides 24-hour medical advice to crew aboard Crowley’s worldwide fleet of vessels. Mariners at sea operate in remote and sometimes challenging environments where emergency and routine medical care can be limited. But, Crowley’s partnership with Future Care gives them around the clock emergency access to on-call physicians and nurses 365 days a year. This program is in addition to care that mariners receive from the trained medical care providers aboard all of Crowley’s vessels.

Seventy-five Crowley Maritime Corporation vessels have received the Chamber of Shipping of America (CSA)’s annual Jones F. Devlin Awards in recognition of their outstanding safety records in 2013, honors given during a luncheon held last week in New Orleans, La. Each year the CSA grants Devlin Award certificates to manned merchant vessels that have operated for two or more years without incurring a Lost Time Injury (LTI), specifically highlighting the skills and dedication of the crewmembers responsible for safe vessel operations.

Helm Marine Software’s product team leads burdened brown water workboat operators out of the wilderness – and confidently into compliance. Four to six forms a day and that’s before Subchapter M rules take effect. That is how many forms Helm Marine Software’s product team figures a typical inland vessel must deal with, every day. Their research shows that OSV companies have around 100 different forms to complete and Dry Bulk companies have around 70. Skip the forms, and under Subchapter M, vessels without Certificates of Inspection (COIs) won’t be fined. They will also be tied up at the dock.

Crowley Marine Services, Inc. has sold a second sister-tug of the Point Class to Island Tug & Barge Co., Marcon International, Inc. reported. The sale of the ABS +A1, Towing, +AMS classed, 2,100BHP shallow draft ocean towing / push tug Pt. Oliktok mirrors the transaction which Marcon brokered in 2013 between the two parties on the sister vessel ex-Pt. Barrow. The three Point Class sister-tugs were specifically designed and built to work in the Arctic, where Crowley needed vessels…

Samina Mahmood, former commercial manager for TITAN Salvage, has been appointed manager for Marine Response Alliance, an association of U.S. emergency responders providing OPA 90 Salvage Marine Firefighting (SMFF). MRA, founded in 1994, combines experts in all facets of emergency response with salvage, firefighting and lightering equipment in all Captain of the Port Zones. Alliance members include TITAN, Crowley, Marine Pollution Control and McAllister Towing & Transportation.