Craig Tornga News

Crowley Maritime Corporation announced today that company veteran Craig Tornga has assumed the role of vice president of stakeholder relations for Alaska, and will coordinate with all of Crowley's Alaska business units to leverage relevant company relationships. Tornga will relocate from Houston to Anchorage, and continue to report to Rocky Smith, senior vice president and general manager, petroleum distribution and marine services. “Crowley has been serving Alaska for more than 60 years and we are deeply rooted in the state,” said Smith. “Craig is the ideal person to help us continue to build partnerships with government, regulatory agencies, native Alaska corporations, trade associations, citizen advisory boards and more.

As part of the company's new vessel build program, Crowley Maritime Corp. christened the latest of its four tugboats in the ocean class series, Ocean Sun, today in Lake Charles. The ceremony served to formally welcome the fourth dynamic positioning 2 (DP2) tugboat to the company’s expanded ocean towing fleet, which has been involved in most of the major offshore oil production installations in the U.S. Gulf of Mexico over the past 18 months. Todd Busch, senior vice president and general manager of Crowley’s solutions group, opened the ceremony to approximately 80 guests.

Crowley's project management organization, 'solutions', will soon expand its presence in Asia Pacific market with new office and construction of up to four dedicated heavy-lift deck barges. Because of changing market conditions and a commitment to proactively support customer needs, Crowley Maritime Corp. ’s solutions group is expanding its presence in the Asia Pacific market by opening a new project management office in Singapore and building two new heavy-lift deck cargo barges for dedicated use in the region. The company also has an option for the construction of two additional barges.

VP brings experience in offshore oil & gas, LNG, engineering and other maritime related industries. Crowley Maritime Corporation’s solutions group recently named Farhad Rajabi vice president of its project management team. He will work out of the group’s Houston office and report to Craig Tornga, Crowley’s vice president of solutions. Rajabi’s new role will leverage his 30 years of experience in project management and other marine solutions fields to establish objectives, plans, policies and procedures for the project management department.

Captain Alex Sweeney joins Crowley’s Solutions Group as Vice President, Project Operations. Sweeney, who most recently served as vice president of operations for Crowley’s petroleum distribution group in Alaska, will remain in Anchorage and report to Michael Johnson, vice president, project management. In his new role, Sweeney will be responsible for the planning, coordination and management of select solutions projects. He will also assist the solutions business development team in pursuing project opportunities.

Crowley Maritime Corporation announced today the establishment of a new Project Solutions group that bundles company-wide capabilities and assets with world-class project management skills to provide complete turnkey marine solutions. This specialized team, which now has a Project Management Office (PMO) in Houston, Texas, allows Crowley to provide greater value to customers with multifaceted marine and offshore construction-related projects. Crowley's Project Solutions group…

Crowley announced its plans to construct two double-hulled, combination deck cargo and tank barges for service in Western Alaska. The vessels, named DBL 165-1 and DBL 165-2, are scheduled to be delivered in April and May of 2011, and will be home ported in Nome, Alaska. The double-hull barges will be used for shallow draft operations and beach landings for the delivery of fuel and cargo to the remote communities of Western Alaska. The hull was designed for use in Western Alaska, with the highest priority given for the safety of the personnel and the environment.

Crowley Maritime Corporation announced a gift of $20,000 to the University of Alaska Foundation this week, establishing a partnership with the University of Alaska Fairbanks geared toward advancing educational opportunities for students from rural communities where Crowley operates. Two $5,000 scholarships will be awarded to students in the School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences, with two more $5,000 scholarships for two students from the general student population at UAF. "The goal here is developing leaders that eventually go back into their communities to work…

Crowley Maritime Corporation announced that it has restructured its petroleum distribution and contract services group, consolidating all Alaska operations under Craig Tornga, vice president. Tornga, who will remain in Anchorage and will continue reporting to Rocky Smith, senior vice president and general manager, will continue to manage Alaska's petroleum distribution and fuel sales but will now also manage tanker assist and escort services in Valdez and Prince William Sound, Alaska, and energy support services on Alaska's North Slope.

Crowley Maritime Corporation announced a restructuring involving three members of its senior leadership team. John Douglass and Rob Grune will move to new positions, with Douglass taking over as senior vice president and general manager of Crowley's Puerto Rico/Caribbean liner services, and Grune taking over as senior vice president and general manager of Crowley's petroleum transportation group. Both executives will remain domiciled in Jacksonville and continue to report to Tom Crowley, chairman, president and CEO.

Crowley announced that Bob Cox has assumed sales and marketing responsibility for the company's petroleum distribution group in Alaska. This is in addition to his role as general manager of the company's supply and distribution functions. Cox will remain domiciled in the company's Anchorage office and will continue reporting to Craig Tornga, vice president of petroleum distribution. Cox is responsible for the sales and marketing function of Crowley's petroleum terminals, which have a combined fuel capacity of 39 million gallons. A veteran of the Alaska petroleum sales and distribution market, Cox also brings transportation experience to his position. Prior to joining Crowley in 2007, he was vice president at both Petro Marine Services and Alaska Railroad.

The vessel construction boom at Crowley continued as the company took delivery of the Nachik, a newly-designed shallow draft tug, from Diversified Marine in Portland, Ore. The Nachik, which means "hair seal" in the native Inupiaq language, will be deployed in Alaska and is the third new vessel to be handed off to Crowley in less than two weeks. The company took delivery of the articulated tug-barge (ATB) Commitment and 650-6 in Pascagoula, Miss., and on March 28 Crowley christened and launched the 455-4, a heavy-lift series deck barge, at Gunderson Marine in Portland.

Crowley Marine Services' Energy and Marine Services business unit has successfully moved the 312-ft. (9.5-m) square concrete island drilling structure Orlan from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Sovietskaya Gavan in the Russian Far East for Sakhalin I Project operator, Exxon Neftegas Limited (ENL), a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation. The Orlan (ex Glomar Beaufort Sea I) Concrete Island Drilling System (CIDS) was purchased from Global Marine Drilling Company and will be used for oil production as part of the Sakhalin 1 project, offshore Russia. It was moved from its stack site near Northstar Island, off Prudhoe Bay using two Crowley Sea Victory Class 7,200 bhp twin screw oceangoing tugs with more than 110 tons bollard pull each.

Crowley Marine Services' Energy and Marine Services business unit has successfully moved the 312-ft. square concrete island drilling structure Orlan from Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, to Sovietskaya Gavan in the Russian Far East for Sakhalin I Project operator, Exxon Neftegas Limited (ENL), a subsidiary of Exxon Mobil Corporation. The Orlan (ex Glomar Beaufort Sea I) Concrete Island Drilling System (CIDS) was purchased from Global Marine Drilling Company and will be used for oil production as part of the Sakhalin 1 project, offshore Russia. It was moved from its stack site near Northstar Island, off Prudhoe Bay using two Crowley Sea Victory Class 7,200 bhp twin screw oceangoing tugs with more than 110 tons bollard pull each.

Craig Tornga, general manager of oil industry services for Crowley Marine Services in Alaska, was awarded the 2001 Thomas Crowley Trophy, Crowley Maritime Corporation's highest honor, at ceremonies held last week in Seattle. Tornga, based in Anchorage, is a member of Crowley's Energy and Marine Services group, which is part of the corporation's Contract Services segment. Created more than a decade ago, the Thomas Crowley Trophy award honors employees with outstanding performance, whose dedication, leadership, initiative and productivity most clearly reflect those of the company's founder. The trophy, a limited edition, bronze sculpture depicting young Thomas Crowley as he ferried goods to and from ships on San Francisco Bay in the early 1890s…

Cole Cosgrove, director of contract operations for Crowley’s Puerto Rico and Caribbean Services, was awarded the 2001 Thomas Crowley Trophy, Crowley Maritime Corporation’s highest honor, at ceremonies held last week in Jacksonville. Cosgrove, who is based in Jacksonville and works for the corporation’s liner services segment, is the second trophy winner this year. Craig Tornga, general manager of Oil Industry Services for Crowley in Alaska, received the first trophy presented in late May. Tornga is a member of Crowley’s Energy and Marine Services group. The Thomas Crowley Trophy honors employees with outstanding performance, whose dedication, leadership, initiative and productivity most clearly reflect those of the company’s founder.

Craig Tornga, general manager of oil industry services for Crowley Marine Services in Alaska, was awarded the 2001 Thomas Crowley Trophy, Crowley Maritime Corporation's highest honor, at ceremonies held last week in Seattle. Tornga, based in Anchorage, is a member of Crowley's Energy and Marine Services group, which is part of the corporation's Contract Services segment. Created more than a decade ago, the Thomas Crowley Trophy award honors employees with outstanding performance, whose dedication, leadership, initiative and productivity most clearly reflect those of the company's founder. The trophy, a limited edition, bronze sculpture depicting young Thomas Crowley as he ferried goods to and from ships on San Francisco Bay in the early 1890s…

ceremonies held last night in Anchorage, Alaska. founder. winners of the award. management team. General Manager, Latin America Services. years," said Crowley. outside his normal scope of responsibility. USS New Jersey and USS Iowa, as well as the aircraft carrier USS Oriskany. He also helped secure a role for Crowley as a contractor for the U.S. 2001 Ehime Maru recovery and relocation operation in Hawaii. sank in 2,000 feet of water on Feb. Diamond Head. ocean floor about 12 miles off Oahu. position in the very competitive ship assist business. is a tremendous honor," Busch said. served aboard company tugs as a chief mate. responsibility. U.S. Navy Salvage Contract. director of sales for ship assist and escort services in 2001. Response Alliance LLC. Southwest Alaska Pilots Association.

Crowley has acquired Columbus Distributing Inc. (CDI), a fuel distribution business based in Anchorage, Alaska. The newly acquired company will be known as Columbus Distributing Inc., a Crowley company. Crowley's Dorine Tessier will join the CDI team as general manager reporting to Craig Tornga, vice president, Alaska Fuel Sales and Distribution. CDI has served Alaska since 1959, and was founded by Joe Columbus, Sr. CDI has two business segments, wholesale fuel distribution and retail card lock service stations. The company handles approximately 26 million gallons of fuel annually. CDI allows Crowley to further strengthen its Anchorage operations and expand geographically onto the Kenai Peninsula and into Fairbanks.

Crowley Maritime Corporation announced that Bob Cox has joined the company's petroleum distribution group as general manager. Cox is based in the company's Anchorage office and reports to Craig Tornga, vice president of petroleum distribution. In his new position, Cox is responsible for Crowley's 14 Alaska marine and aviation petroleum terminals, which have a combined fuel capacity of 39 million gallons. A veteran of the Alaska petroleum sales and distribution market, Cox also brings transportation experience to his position. Cox, a registered civil engineer, is a board member at the Alaska Resource Development Council Board, Alaska Chadux Corporation, SEAPRO, Intermodal Transportation Institute and the University of Denver.