Crowley Expands in Washington State with Acquisition of Mooring Company
U.S.-based shipping giant Crowley is expanding its operations at the ports of Seattle and Tacoma in Washington State with the acquisition of Main Line, a vessel mooring company based in Seattle. Crowley highlights the acquisition of Main Line will further enhance its market position owing to the company’s years of experience in providing vessel mooring services in the Pacific Northwest for ship operators who value safe and dependable service.
Crowley announced the acquisition of Main Line saying it will enable it to expand its harbor services capabilities. They said it will expand its offering for vessels calling at the two ports with comprehensive solutions for their mooring and ship assist needs.
“For decades, our customers have put their trust in Crowley to ensure their vessels arrive and depart ports safely and reliably,” said James C. Fowler, Crowley Shipping senior vice president and general manager.
He added the addition of vessel mooring to the company’s harbor services product offering ensures the highest levels of coordination between the critical services of vessel mooring and ship assist. “As a result, Crowley customers can have even more confidence their vessels will be docked and sailed without delay or incident.”
Main Line was founded in 1995 and is headquartered in Seattle. It will be absorbed by Crowley as part of the asset purchase agreement. The two companies did not disclose the terms of the deal.
Crowley has been operating on the Pacific Coast tracing its origins in the Pacific Northwest to the 1920s in addition to its operations at the major port complexes including the San Francisco Bay, Long Angeles-Long Beach complex, and San Diego. It currently shows on its website seven tugs based in the Pacific Northwest.
It notes the region is challenging presenting some very distinct environmental and physical challenges for shipping. Crowley provides escort and docking services for tankers, containerships, and other vessels throughout the region, including in Seattle and Tacoma. In North Puget Sound, it also assists tankers, ATBs, and other large vessels in and out of berths and provides escort services throughout the rugged coastal region, which, at times, it highlights can experience extreme weather conditions.
The acquisition is strategic considering the port of Seattle performs a critical function in U.S. international trade with a large percentage of inbound cargo crossing Seattle’s docks bound for destinations in the Midwest and East Coast. Seattle is also a top export gateway with container liners operating services to and from Asia, Europe, Latin America, Oceania, Africa, and the Caribbean, while Tacoma operates five major container terminals that boast of calls by some of the world’s largest container shipping lines.
The Northwest Seaport Alliance which oversees the ports highlights that container volumes at the two ports have been on a growth trajectory, reaching 290,210 TEU in November last year. That is a growth of 26 percent compared to November 2023. Annualized volumes were up 12 percent to 3 million TEU.
Privately held, Crowley reports $3.5 billion in annual revenue and operates over 170 vessels mostly in the Jones Act fleet, employing approximately 7,000 people around the world. The company invested more than $3.2 billion in maritime transport, enabling it to serve customers in 36 nations and island territories, and in 2024 it launched a new joint venture, Fairwater Holdings with SEACOR which integrates the two companies’ petroleum and chemical transportation vessels, capabilities, and personnel to provide U.S. Jones Act shipping solutions.