The Dispatcher's Desk

 

On this page, you can find links to many tugboat and barge outfits.  We'll soon have information on how to get started in the tugboat industry and how to move up from within, for those already employed aboard tugs.

 

Find an outfit in this list.

USA

Alabama - California - Caribbean - Connecticut - Delaware - Florida - Great Lakes - Louisiana - Maryland - MassachusettsNew York - Pacific Northwest - Texas - Virginia

Alabama

Parker Towing Company, Inc. 
Parker Towing is one of the leading carriers on the inland system.  Operating one of the largest towboat fleets in the region with vessels ranging from 1000 horsepower to 4200 horsepower, concentrating primarily on the Black Warrior, Tennessee-Tombigbee, Tennessee, Cumberland and East Canal Waterways.  Also provides service to points such as Minneapolis, Chicago, Pittsburgh, and Houston.

California

Crowley Maritime Corporation 
Operating mostly on the west coast but have large Ro-Ro barge runs from Florida to Puerto Rico.  Involved in all facets of marine towing work including petroleum transportation.  They also have operations in Jacksonville, FL and Lake Charles, Louisiana.  (SIU)

Millennium Maritime 
Operates a fleet of state of the art tugs in the Los Angeles/Long Beach Harbors.

Caribbean

Itinerante Marine
A full service marine company specializing in tugs and barges, performing transportation, ship assist, pollution control, firefighting standby, dredging, salvage, rescue, and commercial or technical diving services in the Caribbean Sea and Gulf of Mexico.

Connecticut

Gateway Towing 
Operating tugs and terminal in the Long Island Sound Area.  (Independent)

Delaware

Wilmington Tug, Incorporated 
Operates a fleet of five shop docking tugs on the Delaware River and Bay.  Three of these are tractor tugs.

Florida

Florida Keys Harbor Service, Inc.
Provides docking and undocking assistance for a variety of ships and barges visiting Key West and Stock Island.

Smith Maritime 
Deep sea tugboats operating primarily between the U.S. and Caribbean & South America, offering ocean & coastal towing, and salvage and rescue services.

Seabulk Towing, Inc. 
One of the most modern fleet of tugs available on the U. S. Gulf, including powerful tractor tugs and Ship Docking Modules™.  Provides ship docking services for tankers, barges, cargo vessels, cruise ships, navy, and shipyard work throughout Tampa Bay and the Florida West Coast.

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Great Lakes

Gaelic Tugboat Company 
Providing general towing, ship docking, dry and bulk oil transport.

McKeil Marine 
Operates more than 45 Canadian flagged vessels ranging in size from 180 HP shallow draft workboats to 6000HP ocean going tugs.

Louisiana

Huey L.Cheramie, Incorporated 
A full service marine towing contractor consisting of a diversified fleet of 18 offshore and inland tugs ranging from 400 to 5000 horsepower with a geographic area of operations include the Gulf of Mexico, Eastern Seaboard, Caribbean, Mexico, and the entire US inland waterway system.

Inland Marine Management Corporation  A full service marine towing contractor consisting of a diversified fleet of 18 offshore and inland tugs ranging from 400 to 5000 horsepower with a geographic area of operations include the Gulf of Mexico, Eastern Seaboard, Caribbean, Mexico, and the entire US inland waterway system.

Maryland

Vane Brothers Company 
Providing a wide range of maritime services in the Port of Baltimore and down the Chesapeake Bay to Hampton Roads Virginia, from water to fuel to marine safety and services, but best known for their bunkering services.

Massachusetts

Acushnet Towing and Transportation 
Currently operates two harbor and coastal tugs in the Boston area.  In addition to tugs, they also operate small boats and barges, a welding service, and shore support for marine construction operations.

Boston Harbor Docking Pilots 
A group of seven highly-experienced, master ship handlers who assist Boston Towing and Transportation in all forms of ship maneuvers.

Boston Towing and Transportation 
T
he largest New England-based marine transportation company providing regularly scheduled petroleum transport, ship docking and general and specialized towing services.  (NMU)

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New York

Penn Maritime, Inc. 
Safely transporting asphalts and residual oils using articulated tug and barge units in the Gulf and Caribbean; towed manned barges in the northeastern U.S.  They also have an office in Slidell, LA.  (SIU)

Hornbeck Offshore Services 
A leading transporter of petroleum products with tug and tank barges serving the northeastern United States and Puerto Rico

Intracoastal Transportation, Inc.  A full-service marine service provider with state-of-the-art technology and equipment, and experienced crews. For 20 years have provided quality and timely towing through the inland waterways, including the New York State Barge Canal System, and throughout the eastern seaboard.

K-Sea Transportation
Domestic  company specializing in the transportation of petroleum products such as gasoline, jet fuel, heating oil and bunker fuel.  (Local 333)

Moran Towing Corporation 
Ship docking, LNG activities, and general towing, transportation of petroleum and dry bulk products, contract towing and specialty towing.  Although the main office is in New York, they can be contacted in New Hampshire, Virginia, Georgia, Florida, and Texas.

New York State Marine Highway Transportation Company 
Based in Troy, NY on the Hudson River shipping direct and project cargo between inland and coastal ports via the New York State Canal System.

Roehrig Maritime, LLC 
Acquired by K-Sea Transportation in 2008.

Reinauer Transportation Companies 
Large company operating tugs, barges and ATB's in the transportation of a wide variety of petroleum products.  (Local 333)

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Pacific Northwest

Dunlap Towing Company 
Based in LaConner, Washington, Dunlap Towing has steadily grown into an operation of twenty-five tugboats, seven barges, and more than 225 employees in a variety of ocean towing markets. These include the barging of general cargo, containerized cargo, oil, and wood chips (fibers). The company also operates a ship assist service in Dutch Harbor, AK.

Foss Maritime  Large marine towing outfit out of the Seattle/Tacoma area operating tugs and barges on the entire west coast of the US.

Hodder Tugboat Company, LTD. 
Specializes in log and barge towing on the North Arm Fraser River in Richmond, British Columbia, Canada.  Working on the southern coast of B.C. towing from the Washington coast to Alaska with a fleet of 5 tugs and a water taxi.

Olympic Tug and Barge, Inc. 
Providing general towing, ship docking, dry and bulk oil transport.

Western Towboat Company 
Since 1948, they've been operating tugs and barges from Puget Sound to the Aleutian Islands, from Arctic Alaska to the Hawaiian Islands, and to the Panama Canal.  They provide customers with one of the most modern, custom designed and built tug and barge fleets on the West Coast.

Texas

Kirby Corporation 
Operates the nation's largest fleet of inland tank barges and towing vessels on
the Gulf Intracoastal Waterway, the Mississippi River System, the Illinois River, the Ohio River and numerous other waterways.

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Virginia

Bay Towing Corporation 
They appear to have gone out of business.  Any information on their web site would be appreciated.

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Here's a guide to help you get started in the tugboat industry.  The questions are easy to navigate and will ask you the same things we would if you called us up.  You can first see if you'd like to try it out and then you can choose a route to follow- inland or offshore.

Go to the Employment Guide
 

 


Free entry level training here.

Here is an opportunity to get into the maritime industry for nothing but some time and patience.  This is an excellent stepping stone toward a tugboat career.

  The short explanation is simple:  You sign up, get accepted, take a trip ($) to Baltimore where the school picks you up, you go to the school, get uniforms ($), go to class for a while, go to an internship at sea, come back to school, pick your favorite department, train some more, get your endorsement, and then go to a vessel.  From there, you can look at tug outfits for further employment.  The pay while at school is "three hots and a cot."  You're well taken care of.

Check it out here.

($) = Your dime.

 

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