Crowley Maritime
Encyclopedia
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| Type | Private corporation |
| Founded | San Francisco, California San Francisco, California San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland... (1892) |
| Location | Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville, Florida Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968... |
| Industry Industry Industry refers to the production of an economic good or service within an economy.-Industrial sectors:There are four key industrial economic sectors: the primary sector, largely raw material extraction industries such as mining and farming; the secondary sector, involving refining, construction,... |
Transportation |
| Revenue Revenue In business, revenue is income that a company receives from its normal business activities, usually from the sale of goods and services to customers. In many countries, such as the United Kingdom, revenue is referred to as turnover.... |
$1.5 billion USD United States dollar The United States dollar , also referred to as the American dollar, is the official currency of the United States of America. It is divided into 100 smaller units called cents or pennies.... (2009) |
| Employees | 4,500 |
| Website Website A website, also written as Web site, web site, or simply site, is a collection of related web pages containing images, videos or other digital assets. A website is hosted on at least one web server, accessible via a network such as the Internet or a private local area network through an Internet... |
www.crowley.com |
Crowley Maritime Corporation, based in Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville, Florida
Jacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida in terms of both population and land area, and the largest city by area in the contiguous United States. It is the county seat of Duval County, with which the city government consolidated in 1968...
, and founded in 1892, is primarily a family and employee-owned company that provides transportation and logistics services in U.S.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and international markets by means of six operating lines of business: Puerto Rico/Caribbean Liner Services, Latin America Liner Services, Logistics Services, Petroleum and Chemical Transportation, Petroleum Distribution and Contract Services and Technical Services. Offered within these operating lines of business are the following services: liner container shipping, logistics, contract towing and transportation; ship assist and escort; energy support; salvage and emergency response; vessel management; vessel construction and naval architecture; government services, and petroleum and chemical transportation, distribution and sales.
As of June 2010, the company employs approximately 4,500 people worldwide and provides its services using a fleet of more than 300 vessels, consisting of RO-RO vessels, LO-LO vessels, tankers
Tanker (ship)
A tanker is a ship designed to transport liquids in bulk. Major types of tankship include the oil tanker, the chemical tanker, and the liquefied natural gas carrier.-Background:...
, Articulated Tug-Barges (ATBs), tug
Tug
Tuğ is a village in the Khojavend Rayon of Azerbaijan....
s and barge
Barge
A barge is a flat-bottomed boat, built mainly for river and canal transport of heavy goods. Some barges are not self-propelled and need to be towed by tugboats or pushed by towboats...
s. Crowley's land-based facilities and equipment include terminals, warehouses, tank farms, and specialized vehicles.
History
Crowley was founded in 1892 when founder Thomas Crowley, the grandfather of current (as of June, 2010) Chairman, President and CEO Thomas B. Crowley, Jr., purchased an 18-foot WhitehallWhitehall
Whitehall is a road in Westminster, in London, England. It is the main artery running north from Parliament Square, towards Charing Cross at the southern end of Trafalgar Square...
rowboat to provide transportation of personnel and supplies to ships anchored on San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay
San Francisco Bay is a shallow, productive estuary through which water draining from approximately forty percent of California, flowing in the Sacramento and San Joaquin rivers from the Sierra Nevada mountains, enters the Pacific Ocean...
. Within a few years, services broadened to include bay wing and ship assist 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
Puget Sound
Puget Sound is a sound in the U.S. state of Washington. It is a complex estuarine system of interconnected marine waterways and basins, with one major and one minor connection to the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the Pacific Ocean — Admiralty Inlet being the major connection and...
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
Distant Early Warning Line
The Distant Early Warning Line, also known as the DEW Line or Early Warning Line, was a system of radar stations in the far northern Arctic region of Canada, with additional stations along the North Coast and Aleutian Islands of Alaska, in addition to the Faroe Islands, Greenland, and Iceland...
on the Alaska
Alaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
coastline. It was the first penetration of the Arctic
Arctic
The Arctic is a region located at the northern-most part of the Earth. The Arctic consists of the Arctic Ocean and parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, the United States, Norway, Sweden, Finland, and Iceland. The Arctic region consists of a vast, ice-covered ocean, surrounded by treeless permafrost...
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
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
and later expanded into the rest of the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
and South America
South America
South America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
. 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 1989, Crowley tugs were first on the scene of the crippled tanker Exxon Valdez
Exxon Valdez
Oriental Nicety, formerly Exxon Valdez, Exxon Mediterranean, SeaRiver Mediterranean, S/R Mediterranean, Mediterranean, and Dong Fang Ocean is an oil tanker that gained notoriety after running aground in Prince William Sound spilling hundreds of thousands of barrels of crude oil in Alaska...
in Prince William Sound
Prince William Sound
Prince William Sound is a sound off the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System...
, Alaska. The Exxon Valdez oil spill
Exxon Valdez oil spill
The Exxon Valdez oil spill occurred in Prince William Sound, Alaska, on March 24, 1989, when the Exxon Valdez, an oil tanker bound for Long Beach, California, struck Prince William Sound's Bligh Reef and spilled of crude oil. It is considered to be one of the most devastating human-caused...
was the second largest in U.S. history (after Deepwater Horizon
Deepwater Horizon
Deepwater Horizon was an ultra-deepwater, dynamically positioned, semi-submersible offshore oil drilling rig owned by Transocean. Built in 2001 in South Korea by Hyundai Heavy Industries, the rig was commissioned by R&B Falcon, which later became part of Transocean, registered in Majuro, Marshall...
, 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
Alyeska Pipeline Service Company
The Alyeska consortium refers to the major oil companies that own and operate the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System through the Alyeska Pipeline Service Company.-History:...
contracted with Crowley to provide tanker assist 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 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.
Crowley had expanded its petroleum carrying capabilities in recent years with the construction of four new 155,000-barrel articulated tug barge (ATB) tank vessels and four 185,000-barrel ATBs. Six more 185,000-barrel ATBs are on order with a shipyard and scheduled for delivery by the end of 2010. And in 2007, the company placed orders for three, 330,000-barrel ATBs, which are scheduled for delivery by mid-2013.
The business was incorporated in the State of Delaware
Delaware
Delaware is a U.S. state located on the Atlantic Coast in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It is bordered to the south and west by Maryland, and to the north by Pennsylvania...
as "Crowley Maritime Corporation" on December 1, 1972. The present structure, in which Crowley Maritime Corporation is a holding company
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
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 shares do not trade on any national securities exchange or in any market. Revenue in 2009 was nearly $1.6 billion.
Business Services
Crowley provides diversified transportation services in domestic and international markets by means of six operating lines of business: Puerto Rico/Caribbean Liner Services, Latin America Liner Services, Logistics Services, Petroleum and Chemical Transportation, Petroleum Distribution and Contract Services and Technical Services.The primary services offered by these six business lines include:
Liner Services
Crowley operates ocean cargo carrier services between the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, the Caribbean
Caribbean
The Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
, Bahamas, Central America
Central America
Central America is the central geographic region of the Americas. It is the southernmost, isthmian portion of the North American continent, which connects with South America on the southeast. When considered part of the unified continental model, it is considered a subcontinent...
, Dominican Republic
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic is a nation on the island of La Hispaniola, part of the Greater Antilles archipelago in the Caribbean region. The western third of the island is occupied by the nation of Haiti, making Hispaniola one of two Caribbean islands that are shared by two countries...
, Haiti
Haiti
Haiti , officially the Republic of Haiti , is a Caribbean country. It occupies the western, smaller portion of the island of Hispaniola, in the Greater Antillean archipelago, which it shares with the Dominican Republic. Ayiti was the indigenous Taíno or Amerindian name for the island...
and Cuba
Cuba
The Republic of Cuba is an island nation in the Caribbean. The nation of Cuba consists of the main island of Cuba, the Isla de la Juventud, and several archipelagos. Havana is the largest city in Cuba and the country's capital. Santiago de Cuba is the second largest city...
. Services include regularly scheduled liner
Ocean liner
An ocean liner is a ship designed to transport people from one seaport to another along regular long-distance maritime routes according to a schedule. Liners may also carry cargo or mail, and may sometimes be used for other purposes .Cargo vessels running to a schedule are sometimes referred to as...
operations for cargo shipped in containers
Intermodal container
An intermodal container is a standardized reusable steel box used for the safe, efficient and secure storage and movement of materials and products within a global containerized intermodal freight transport system...
and/or trailer
Trailer (vehicle)
A trailer is generally an unpowered vehicle pulled by a powered vehicle. Commonly, the term trailer refers to such vehicles used for transport of goods and materials....
s; rolling stock
Rolling stock
Rolling stock comprises all the vehicles that move on a railway. It usually includes both powered and unpowered vehicles, for example locomotives, railroad cars, coaches and wagons...
such as cars, trucks, buses and construction equipment; and 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 logisticsLogistics
Logistics is the management of the flow of goods between the point of origin and the point of destination in order to meet the requirements of customers or corporations. Logistics involves the integration of information, transportation, inventory, warehousing, material handling, and packaging, and...
provider (3PL), Crowley offers supply chain management
Supply chain management
Supply chain management is the management of a network of interconnected businesses involved in the ultimate provision of product and service packages required by end customers...
and transportation management services including: freight forwarding, ocean, inland, and air transportation, customs house brokerage, cargo insurance and warehousing and distribution. The company's U.S. Trucking and Distribution Center serves as the heart of its logistics framework, enabling clients to combine and tailor services as needed, and tap into the company's materials and shipment tracking technology. In 2008, Crowley acquired Miami-based Customized Brokers, a customs clearance company specializing in refrigerated cargoes arriving by air and sea, to further build its customs brokerage business.
Energy Support Services
Crowley has long-term relationships with many of the world's energy companies, providing them with creative solutionSolution
In chemistry, a solution is a homogeneous mixture composed of only one phase. In such a mixture, a solute is dissolved in another substance, known as a solvent. The solvent does the dissolving.- Types of solutions :...
s to their most difficult exploration and production challenges. The company provides 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
Quality Assurance
Quality assurance, or QA for short, is the systematic monitoring and evaluation of the various aspects of a project, service or facility to maximize the probability that minimum standards of quality are being attained by the production process...
.
Crowley has also developed a unique system for transporting cargos and personnel to remote road less areas, across Alaska's fragile arctic tundra, using specialized all-terrain vehicles called CATCOs that essentially float across the fragil 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 managementProject management
Project management is the discipline of planning, organizing, securing, and managing resources to achieve specific goals. A project is a temporary endeavor with a defined beginning and end , undertaken to meet unique goals and objectives, typically to bring about beneficial change or added value...
, 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, industry leading 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, AlaskaAlaska
Alaska is the largest state in the United States by area. It is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait...
, Hawaii
Hawaii
Hawaii is the newest of the 50 U.S. states , and is the only U.S. state made up entirely of islands. It is the northernmost island group in Polynesia, occupying most of an archipelago in the central Pacific Ocean, southwest of the continental United States, southeast of Japan, and northeast of...
, Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
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
Deadweight tonnage
Deadweight tonnage is a measure of how much weight a ship is carrying or can safely carry. It is the sum of the weights of cargo, fuel, fresh water, ballast water, provisions, passengers, and crew...
(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 the people and businesses of Alaska's Arctic and coastal area, handling fuel and freight beginning in 1896 as Black Navigation, sailing in Prince William SoundPrince William Sound
Prince William Sound is a sound off the Gulf of Alaska on the south coast of the U.S. state of Alaska. It is located on the east side of the Kenai Peninsula. Its largest port is Valdez, at the southern terminus of the Trans-Alaska Pipeline System...
and expanding service to the Yukon River
Yukon River
The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. The source of the river is located in British Columbia, Canada. The next portion lies in, and gives its name to Yukon Territory. The lower half of the river lies in the U.S. state of Alaska. The river is long and empties into...
and Tanana River
Tanana River
The Tanana River is a tributary of the Yukon River in the U.S. state of Alaska. According to linguist and anthropologist William Bright, the name is from the Koyukon tene no, tenene, literally "trail 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
Kuskokwim River
The Kuskokwim River or Kusko River is a river, long, in Southwest Alaska in the United States. It is the ninth largest river in the United States by average discharge volume at its mouth and seventeenth largest by basin drainage area.The river provides the principal drainage for an area of the...
and Yukon River
Yukon River
The Yukon River is a major watercourse of northwestern North America. The source of the river is located in British Columbia, Canada. The next portion lies in, and gives its name to Yukon Territory. The lower half of the river lies in the U.S. state of Alaska. The river is long and empties into...
. Over the past several years, Crowley's coverage has increased to include sales and delivery of lubricants and other petroleum products along the central Alaska highway system. The company also transports general cargo on our combination fuel and freight barges between our marine/fuel terminals and remote sites.
Ship Assist and Escort
Crowley owns and operates one of the most advanced fleets of ship assist and escort tugs in the world. Harbor towing services in Oakland, San Diego and Los AngelesLos Ángeles
Los Ángeles is the capital of the province of Biobío, in the commune of the same name, in Region VIII , in the center-south of Chile. It is located between the Laja and Biobío rivers. The population is 123,445 inhabitants...
, California, as well as Seattle and Tacoma, Washington consist of escort and docking services for tankers, container ships and other vessels as they enter and depart from the harbors. Tugs in Valdez
Valdez
Valdés is a surname of Asturian origin.Both in North and South America the spelling Valdez is very common.The exact meaning of "Valdés" is not clear...
, 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
Valdez
Valdés is a surname of Asturian origin.Both in North and South America the spelling Valdez is very common.The exact meaning of "Valdés" is not clear...
also provide oil spill
Oil spill
An oil spill is the release of a liquid petroleum hydrocarbon into the environment, especially marine areas, due to human activity, and is a form of pollution. The term is mostly used to describe marine oil spills, where oil is released into the ocean or coastal waters...
response services.
Salvage and Emergency Response
TITAN Salvage, a Crowley company, is a worldwide marine salvage and wreck removal company based in Pompano Beach, Fla., that has performed over 350 salvage and wreck removal projects, including some of the most technically demanding projects ever undertaken. The company also has offices and equipment depots in Newhaven, U.K. and Singapore. In addition to marine salvage and wreck removal services, TITAN does marine firefighting, vessel/ship lightering, underwater fuel removal, damage stability and other rapid marine emergency response services for the maritime industry.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, to further build its marine technical services business, Crowley acquired Seattle-based Jensen Maritime Consultants, a naval architectureNaval architecture
Naval architecture is an engineering discipline dealing with the design, construction, maintenance and operation of marine vessels and structures. Naval architecture involves basic and applied research, design, development, design evaluation and calculations during all stages of the life of a...
and marine engineering
Marine propulsion
Marine propulsion is the mechanism or system used to generate thrust to move a ship or boat across water. While paddles and sails are still used on some smaller boats, most modern ships are propelled by mechanical systems consisting a motor or engine turning a propeller, or less frequently, in jet...
firm with more than 45 years experience designing and engineering a variety of different commercial vessels, including fishing boats, fireboats, patrol boats, ferries and tugboats.