Walk in the front door at Crowley Maritime Corporation HQ in Jacksonville, Fla., and you learn nearly everything you need to know about the company. With your visitor’s badge, you are handed a “Safety and Evacuation” brochure, and the person you are there to meet – in our case Tom Crowley, Jr. – walks down to greet you personally. Safety and People; The Crowley Way. The rest is just details. Crowley Maritime was founded in 1892 by Thomas Crowley in San Francisco. Its fleet: A single Whitehall rowboat purchased for $80, used to ferry people and supplies from shore to ships anchored in the Bay.