McAllister Towing Joins Marine Response Alliance

08/31/2010 08:30 am

(New York, N.Y.; Aug. 31, 2010) — The directors of Marine Response Alliance, LLC, (MRA or Alliance) announced today the welcoming of McAllister Towing and Transportation Co., Inc., (McAllister) to the MRA as a full and equal member. McAllister is now united with the other MRA member companies — Crowley Marine Services, Inc. (Crowley), Marine Pollution Control Corporation (MPC), Titan Maritime LLC (Titan) and Marine Hazard Response (MHR) (a joint venture of Wild Well Control, Inc., and Williams Fire and Hazard Control, Inc.) — to provide OPA-90 Salvage and Marine Firefighting services to the maritime community.

McAllister is one of the oldest and largest marine towing and transportation companies in the United States, operating a fleet of more than 70 tugboats and 12 barges along the entire East Coast from Portland, Maine, to San Juan, Puerto Rico. The corporate headquarters is located in New York City with additional staffed offices in Portland; Fall River, Mass.; Providence, R.I.; Staten Island, N.Y.; Philadelphia; Baltimore; Norfolk, Va.; Wilmington, N.C.; Georgetown, S.C.; Charleston, S.C.; Jacksonville, Fla.; Port Everglades, Fla.; and San Juan. In each port, McAllister is engaged in ship docking, general harbor towing, coastal towing, rescue towing and bulk transportation servicing more than 600 major steamship companies.

The expanded MRA will provide unparalleled access to comprehensive emergency response services. The MRA provides OPA 90 compliant capabilities for rescue towing, lightering, salvage and firefighting services in all U.S. Captain of the Port zones. Regulatory changes in OPA-90 Salvage and Marine Firefighting Regulations prompted MRA to expand and strengthen its capabilities. With the addition of McAllister, the Alliance has enhanced its existing emergency towing capability and solidified its position as the premier provider of marine emergency response services.

"We offer the most complete salvage and marine firefighting package of services available," said Dan Schwall, one of the directors of the Alliance. "The addition of McAllister to Crowley's already extensive rescue towing, tug and barge services results in an unprecedented tug capability in the U.S. with tugs now available for emergency response on all three U.S. coasts. McAllister's fleet will also provide additional response platforms for the other member companies, MPC for lightering, Titan for salvage and MHR for marine firefighting response services."

"We are pleased to have the opportunity to team up with Crowley, Titan, MPC and MHR as a full member of the MRA," said Buckley McAllister, a new director of the Alliance from McAllister. "We are excited to be part of consortium that provides the worldwide shipping community with a one-stop call for emergency towing, lightering, salvage and marine firefighting services. We believe that the MRA team members have more than proven themselves via their extensive and impressive resume of successful jobs and we look forward to being part of MRA's future."

"This expansion demonstrates the continuing commitment of the Alliance in investing in the infrastructure necessary to meet the needs of our clients," said Margaret Kaigh Doyle, MRA general manager. "The U.S. Coast Guard salvage and marine firefighting regulations that take effect next year are all about having the resources, assets and ability to properly respond in all of the required geographic areas. The Alliance has gone above and beyond to ensure that our clients' vessels are fully compliant and, more importantly, covered by the most capable resources available. We're changing so our clients don't have to."
 
"The combined resources of the Alliance provide clients with more than 11,000 full-time employees and a fleet of over 370 vessels owned and operated by the five MRA member companies. This capability is unprecedented anywhere in the world," Doyle said.

Since 1994, MRA has provided access to marine emergency response services through a "one-call" approach for both drills and actual response efforts. The Alliance relies on the member companies' equipment and personnel to initiate emergency response within hours — or often minutes — of notice. The alliance of Crowley, MPC, TITAN, MHR and now McAllister ensures MRA customers have access to high horsepower tugs, lightering barges, portable pumping equipment, marine fenders, salvage gear and expertise, firefighting equipment and trained firefighters to meet federal and state requirements.

For more information about MRA, go to www.marineresponsealliance.com.

Jacksonville-based Crowley Holdings Inc., a holding company of the 118-year-old Crowley Maritime Corporation, is a privately held family and employee-owned company. The company provides diversified transportation and logistics services in domestic and international markets by means of six operating lines of business: Puerto Rico/Caribbean Liner Services, Latin America Liner Services, Logistics Services, Petroleum Services, Marine Services and Technical Services. Offered within these operating lines of business are the following services: liner container shipping, logistics, contract towing and transportation; ship assist and escort; energy support; salvage and emergency response through its TITAN Salvage subsidiary; vessel management; vessel construction and naval architecture through its Jensen Maritime subsidiary; government services, and petroleum and chemical transportation, distribution and sales. Additional information about Crowley, its subsidiaries and business units may be found on the Internet at www.crowley.com.

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Photo caption, left to right: Art Mead of Crowley. John Ara of Crowley, Eric McAllister of McAllister, Margaret Kaigh Doyle of MRA, Brian McAllister of McAllister, David Usher of MPC, Dan Schwall of Titan, Buckley McAllister of McAllister, and Scott Powell of MHR.