Crowley Completes Acquisition of SeaRiver Tankers

File photo provided by Crowley shows the MT Washington (formerly Liberty Bay. Photo: Crowley

Crowley Alaska Tankers, a division of Jacksonville-based Crowley Maritime Corp, has announced that it has completed the acquisition of three tankers from SeaRiver Maritime and is now chartering them back to SeaRiver under varying multi-year terms.

The tankers Liberty Bay and Eagle Bay, now under Crowley ownership and operation, each have a capacity of 760,000 barrels and transport crude from Alaska to West Coast refineries. The tanker SR American Progress has a capacity of 342,000 barrels and transports refined petroleum between the U.S. Gulf and East Coast ports.

Crowley has renamed the ships. Liberty Bay is now Washington. Eagle Bay is California, and SR American Progress is Oregon.

“With the regulatory approvals in place and the sale officially complete, we are now focused on operating these tankers in the safest, most reliable manner possible,” said Tom Crowley, chairman and CEO of Crowley Maritime Corp. “Our knowledge, passion, talent, ingenuity and helpfulness drive business for the company and provide the basis for highly successful partnerships such as the one announced today.”

Crowley operates and manages the largest U.S.-flag petroleum and chemical tank vessel fleet in the country. Including the three tankers just purchased, the company now operates 40 Jones Act-qualified large petroleum transportation vessels in the United States with a combined capacity of more than 12 million barrels. Among this tank vessel fleet is a tanker and an articulated tug-barge (ATB) already on charter to SeaRiver.

“Throughout the transition, the officers and crews have proven to be a great fit and we are very happy that so many are now Crowley employees,” said Rudy Leming, Crowley vice president of labor relations. “They have embodied the highest levels of professionalism and commitment to the project and we are certain they’ll be a critical piece to our ongoing success.”

“Safety is of paramount importance to us and our record reflects that,” said Rob Grune, Crowley senior vice president and general manager, Crowley Shipping. “Last year, for example, we transported more than 472 million barrels of product and made 5,196 product transfers with zero spills – a credit to our professional, safety-minded crews and management systems.”

Crowley has been operating in Alaska since 1953, six years before statehood, providing upstream energy support services, tanker assistance and escort services with tugboats, and petroleum transportation, distribution and sales throughout the state. In addition to the company’s own ATBs operating in Alaska, Crowley currently manages and crews tankers carrying petroleum between Alaska and U.S. West Coast refineries.

Crowley owns and/or operates a diverse fleet of double-hull tank vessels, including 17 ATBs and now 23 tankers, all built since 2002.

SeaRiver Maritime, Inc., headquartered in Spring, Texas, is a privately held subsidiary wholly owned by ExxonMobil that provides a wide range of technical and commercial marine services to ExxonMobil affiliates throughout the world.

Crowley Alaska Tankers, based in Bellingham, Washington, with a field office in Valdez, Alaska, is a new subsidiary of Crowley Petroleum Holdings LLC, part of the Crowley Maritime Corporation family of companies.

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