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Crowley Expands Tug Business in Northern California

Published Jan 25, 2007 12:01 AM by The Maritime Executive

(OAKLAND, CA; Jan. 24, 2007) Crowley Maritime Corporation announced today that it has purchased the tug boat business of SeaRiver Maritime in Northern California, effectively doubling the size of Crowley's tug fleet in the San Francisco Bay Area.

"The acquisition of SeaRiver's ship assist and escort business in the Bay Area further expands Crowley's presence in Oakland and San Francisco," said Joel Klenck, vice president of ship assist and escort for Crowley's Marine Services segment. "This purchase enhances Crowley's ability to perform tanker escorts in the Bay Area and increases the size of our Bay Area fleet, from two to four tugs. In addition, we have joined a pooling arrangement with Baydelta Maritime. This pooling arrangement comprises a joint dispatch operation and provides our customers with enhanced efficiency and the partial use of their two tug boats."

The two new Crowley tugs are the Goliah (4400 BHP) and Resolute (6800 BHP), two azimuth stern drive tractor tugs built in 1997 and 1996, respectively.

"These new tugs will serve our customers well with their enhanced maneuverability and horsepower," Klenck said. "They will complement our tractor tug fleet across the West Coast of the United States."

"We look forward to providing many years of quality service for our customers in the Bay Area and throughout the West Coast of the United States," said Klenck. "This expansion solidifies our ability to provide coast wide tanker escort services for our petroleum transport customers. Moreover, we are delighted to expand our presence in the Oakland and San Francisco harbors, the birth place of Crowley Maritime Corporation."

The purchase of SeaRiver follows Crowley's reentry into the Bay Area in 2004 and the subsequent relocation of Crowley's Oakland terminal from 10th Avenue to Berth 9 at the port in 2006. That move helped put the company's tugs closer to its customers and allowed them to work with greater ease in the expanse of the Outer Harbor.

Oakland-based Crowley Maritime Corporation, founded in 1892, is primarily a family and employee-owned company that provides diversified transportation and logistics services in domestic and international markets by means of four operating lines of business: Liner Services; Logistics Services; Petroleum Services and Marine Services. Other services provided within these business lines include contract towing and transportation; ship assist and escort; energy support; salvage and emergency response; vessel management, and petroleum and chemical transportation, distribution and sales. The ship assist and escort business is part of the company's Marine Services segment. Additional information about Crowley its subsidiaries and business units may
be found on the Internet at www.crowley.com.