Crowley and SEACOR Launch Newest Jones Act Tanker Company Fairwater
Approximately 10 months after announcing plans to combine their tanker operations into a new Jones Act company, Crowley and SEACOR reported today the deal has been completed. Known as Fairwater Holdings, the new independent company integrates Crowley and SEACOR’s petroleum and chemical transportation vessels and capabilities.
Announcing the motivation of the combination last fall, the groups pointed to the opportunity to develop a company to provide for the evolving needs for safe, efficient, and sustainable U.S. domestic maritime transportation solutions. Fairwater they said would provide a vehicle for continued growth and enhance service to customers.
“Fairwater creates a new, dynamic leader with the broadest capabilities in our domestic industry for customers and carries forward the shared legacy of value, efficiency, and high performance by Crowley and SEACOR,” said Tom Crowley, chairman and CEO of the Crowley Corporation, who also serves as chairman of Fairwater.
Fairwater will be differentiated from industry peers as it will be active in all major Jones Act coastwise tank vessel trades. It will support the transportation of petroleum products, chemical, and specialty parcels, as well as Alaskan crude oil.
The new company’s fleet consists of 31 owned vessels, including both “ECO” and conventional medium-range product tankers, 114,000 dwt Aframax tankers, and articulated tug-barges (ATBs) with varying enhancements and capabilities. Fairwater also provides ship management services for a diverse fleet of 20 third-party owned vessels.
“I am excited to lead a team of nearly 1,700 seagoing and shoreside professionals under the new Fairwater banner,” said Daniel Thorogood, the former CEO of Seabulk who became CEO of Fairwater. He has been heading up Seabulk and responsible for SEACOR's short-sea shipping, and logistics investments since 2009. Before that, he held positions in SEACOR's international offshore marine services division on operational and commercial assignments before moving to SEACOR's corporate group in a business development capacity.
“Our geographic reach, operational and technical expertise, and the diversity of our assets enables Fairwater to serve as the industry’s next-generation provider of safe, highly flexible, and reliable energy transportation solutions,” said Thorogood.
Fairwater’s seagoing and shoreside operations are headquartered in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, with offices in Fairfield, Connecticut, Houston, Jacksonville, Florida, and Seattle.