Crowley Shipping and Shell Trading (US) Company (“STUSCO”) recently initiated use of low carbon biofuel to power the Crowley tugboat Veteran, a ship assist and escort tug serving the Bay of San Francisco, according to the company's release.
The fueling contract between the companies reflects their commitment to sustainable operations that decrease the carbon footprint and greenhouse gas impacts of maritime operations.
The Veteran, a 6,800-horsepower tug with a bollard pull of 182,000 pounds, received its first bunkering of 24,000 gallons of low carbon biofuel on March 9 in San Francisco, where Crowley has operated tugboats since 1906.
Veteran joins Crowley’s Vision/650-10, a U.S.-flagged, articulated tug-barge (ATB) that has continued to be bunkered with biofuel from STUSCO since December 2019. The ATB serves the U.S. and Canadian West Coast.
The biofuel is lower in carbon intensity than conventional fuel, the use of which results in a reduction of greenhouse gas and air emissions such as carbon dioxide and Sulphur oxide. The biofuel runs the vessels’ main engines, generators and barge generators.
Crowley Shipping, a business unit of Crowley Maritime Corp., is the largest independent operator of petroleum tank vessels in the U.S., and a leading operator of ship assist and escort tugs serving domestic ports.
About Crowley
Jacksonville, Fla.-based Crowley Holdings Inc. is the parent company of the 129-year-old Crowley Maritime Corporation, a privately-held, family- and employee-owned company that provides worldwide logistics, government, marine and energy solutions. Crowley operates with four business units: Crowley Logistics, a supply chain management division that includes logistics and ocean liner cargo transportation services; Crowley Shipping, which encompasses ownership, operations and management of conventional and dual fuel vessels, including tankers, container ships, multipurpose tugboats and barges; sustainable energy solutions for the emerging offshore wind and liquefied natural gas (LNG) sectors; engineering; project management; naval architecture and vessel construction management; Crowley Fuels, a fuel transportation, distribution and sales division in Alaska; and Crowley Solutions, which focuses on global government services and program management including, ship management, expeditionary logistics, technology solutions, energy solutions and freight transportation and logistics services.