Crowley Forms 'New Energy' Division to Focus on Offshore Wind, LNG

Crowley Shipping announced Wednesday it has formed a New Energy division to focus on offshore wind and liquefied natural gas (LNG) services in the U.S. and adjacent regions.

The Jacksonville, Fla.-based maritime transportation and services firm, a longtime supporter of the oil and gas industry, said many of its U.S.-flag vessel assets, engineering and logistics services could quickly and easily pivot to support the emerging energy sectors.

“At Crowley, we have a strong company culture of environmental stewardship and sustainability in not only our own operations, but in our services to customers.,” said Chairman and CEO Tom Crowley.  “The New Energy division captures our commitment to those cultural principles while delivering the innovative solutions that help customers in these emerging sectors succeed.”

Matt Yacavone, senior vice president and general manager, Crowley Shipping, said, “The New Energy division is the next evolution in our prioritization of this market with a singular focus on developing and delivering access and support to more sustainable energy sources to our customers. We can draw upon our broad portfolio of engineering and naval architecture, multi-faceted supply chain solutions, and 129 years of maritime transportation to deliver tailored, reliable results.”

Crowley has provided LNG distribution services since 2013, when it acquired Carib Energy LLC, the first company to receive a small-scale LNG export license from the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) for LNG transportation from the U.S. into Free Trade Agreement (FTA) countries.

Since that time, Crowley has expanded its LNG services to include not only sourcing and distribution services for industrial and commercial customers, but also microgrid solutions, engineering services and vessel fuel bunkering services. This includes fueling of its own LNG-powered combination container/roll-on roll-off (ConRo) vessels, which operate weekly in the U.S. mainland-to-Puerto Rico liner cargo trade.

Offshore wind power projects are emerging in the U.S., and the company said it expects its expansion in the offshore wind industry to be as a total lifecycle service provider, with tailored solutions in support of the entire project. The solutions include transportation of turbines during construction, designs for industry-specific support vessels, shoreside terminaling and supply chain services from farm construction through decommissioning.

“Crowley takes the one-source concept to the next level as a lifecycle service provider,” said Jeff Andreini, vice president, New Energy division, Crowley. “We have engineered solutions to assist our industry partners in the installation of their wind farms, and once the project is complete, wind power companies can continue to turn to Crowley for operations and maintenance as well as help managing the terminal and vessel activity.”

“Wind power companies entering the U.S. market have big needs—infrastructure and supply chain just for starters,” Andreini said. “Because of the newness of the American market, it’s hard for companies to know what they don’t know or will need. Facing this uncertainty, Crowley provides a turnkey supply chain solution for piecing these massive projects together.”