Q. What do you most want people to know about your company?
A. In 2011, Crowley made a formal foray into project management expanding its already robust portfolio of services with the addition of the company’s solutions group. While the company has long supported the needs of Alaskans and the petroleum business within the state, this new business group solidifies the company’s commitment to providing complete turnkey project solutions.
Q. Where is your company located?
A. Crowley has many locations throughout the world. Its corporate headquarters is in Jacksonville, Florida. Its new solutions group is headquartered in Houston, Texas and its Alaska headquarters is located in Anchorage providing a hub for the 23 offices the company maintains across the state.
Q. What year was the company founded and by whom?
A. Crowley was founded in 1892, by Thomas Crowley — the grandfather of current chairman, president and CEO Thomas B. Crowley, Jr. The company entered the Alaska market in 1953, providing marine, petroleum distribution and energy support services throughout Alaska, from the North Slope to Southcentral Alaska, along the coast and into some of the most remote inland areas including communities along the Kuskokwim and Yukon Rivers.
Q. What is the company’s primary business sector?
A. Crowley Maritime Corporation is a U.S.-owned and operated marine solutions, transportation and logistics company providing services in domestic and international markets through six operating lines of business: Puerto Rico/Caribbean liner services, Latin America liner services, logistics, marine contract solutions, deep sea petroleum transportation, and petroleum transportation, distribution and sales in Alaska.
Q. Are there important projects the company is currently a part of or has done recently?
A. With the addition of a formal project management organization, Crowley has cemented its commitment to getting the toughest jobs done safely and efficiently despite the most challenging environments. Most recently, these include the Parker Arctic Alaskan Drilling Units (AADU) and BP’s Northstar Operation Center.
Parker AADU Sealift
The Parker AADU sealift, required moving two Arctic Alaskan Drilling Units collectively weighing more than 10,000 tons, from Vancouver, Wash., to Prudhoe Bay. Crowley’s solutions team orchestrated the loading of both modules onto the company’s heavy-strength deck barge, 455 5, for tow from the Columbia River to the North Slope by the high-torque Crowley tugboat Guardsman. Upon arrival in Prudhoe Bay, the 455 5 was secured and grounded offshore in 13 feet of water to remove the possibility of unsafe dynamic elements. Sister vessel 455 4, towed to Prudhoe by the tug Hunter, was then brought in and grounded end-to-end with the 455 5. Offering a second stable platform, each of the six self-propelled modules were hauled one at a time onto the 455 4. With a single, lighter load, this sister barge had a lesser draft and was pushed through the shallows by four of Crowley’s shallow draft tugs. Precise timing with the tides allowed the deballasted, refloated 455 4 to squeak through the shallows of less than five-and-a-half feet of water. This was repeated safely five more times.
BP Northstar Operations Center Project Cargo
Before departure, the company’s 455-series barges, which are 105 feet wide even without the oversized cargo loaded onboard, had to be modified and outfitted to transit through the Panama Canal, whose maximum allowable width of a vessel is 106 feet. Once cleared through the canal, Crowley tug Warrior led the 455 3 northward to Alaska, arriving almost a week ahead of schedule. Because Northstar Island is an exposed, deep-water island off the North Slope, the barge couldn’t be grounded, and instead required a live, or floating, discharge. Solutions arranged for Crowley’s shallow-draft river tugs to position the barge and cargo just offshore as the Warrior pushed alongside it to provide continual counter-force against the currents to hold it in place. In addition to drafting a mooring plan that called for the 455 3 to be secured to the dry land of the island with high-strength lines and cables, engineers remained on site to monitor the waves, tides and winds, and adjust the ballast as needed.
Q. Describe the equipment your company might use and are there any new purchases planned?
A. Crowley maintains a fleet of 200 vessels, consisting of RO/RO (roll-on-roll-off) vessels, LO/LO (lift-on-lift-off) vessels, tankers, tugs and barges. Land-based facilities and equipment include terminals, warehouses, tank farms, office buildings, trucks, trailers, containers, chassis, cranes and other specialized vehicles.
Under construction are the company’s new Ocean Class tugboats, the first of which was launched in December of 2011. The Ocean Wave and Ocean Wind are classed as Dynamic Positioning 1 (DP1) tugboats and are twin-screw, steel-hulled tugs with an overall length of 146 ft, beam of 46 ft, hull depth of 25 ft and design draft of 21 ft. The second two tugs of the class, Ocean Sky and Ocean Sun, will be classed as DP2 and will be 10 feet longer.
The new tugs will be ideally suited to work with Crowley’s new 455-series heavy lift deck barges, which measure 400 feet by 105 feet and offer increased stability for loads up to 4,200 pounds per square foot. The tugs will be outfitted for, and capable of, rig moves, platform and Floating Production, Storage and Offloading (FPSO) unit tows, emergency response and firefighting, and will have the capability to support salvage and rescue towing opportunities.
Q. Is your company expanding any of its operations or locations or changing any of its services?
A. In 2011, the company expanded its portfolio of services by adding the solutions group to professionally manage large scale projects. The company also acquired Jarvis International Freight, Inc., a Houston-based freight forwarding, export packing and logistics company primarily serving the energy, oilfield and mining industries. Jarvis offers regular shipments by sea to noted international oilfield centers such as Aberdeen, Stavanger, Rotterdam, Abu Dhabi, Dubai and Singapore and is also a customs broker with bonded warehouse capabilities.
Q. What are the biggest obstacles to completing work the company undertakes?
A. The remote nature of the majority of Alaska and the villages and projects that Crowley supports is an obstacle. When combined with the weather challenges found in Alaska it really is true that people are tougher in Alaska. The services Crowley provides to local communities are a vital part of life in the last frontier.
Q. What do you see as your company’s biggest challenge in the next five years?
A. The changing ice conditions will open new resource opportunities in the Arctic and present new challenges. The marine shipping season could potentially be extended and new equipment is being designed and constructed to meet that challenge. New infrastructure and services will need to be developed to support this increased activity. Crowley is already preparing for these opportunities.
Q. What steps does the company take to ensure a safe work environment?
A. Safety is Crowley’s number one core value. The company documents Safety Moments before meetings or shift changes, including near-miss and corrective action reporting, mandates the use of personal protection equipment, demands strict adherence to all operating guidelines and regulations, and provides extensive employee training.
Q. Does your company have a website?
A. www.crowley.com
