Issue link: http://digital.nexsitepublishing.com/i/1134499
46 1900 In 1892, founder Thomas Crowley purchased one 18-foot Whitehall rowboat to provide transportation of personnel and supplies to ships anchored in San Francisco Bay. Crowley then purchased his first 36-foot motor launch vessel, shortly followed by a second 45-foot vessel, and a third 28-footer, allowing the company to broaden its services to include towing and ship assist services in only a few years. In 1906, Crowley ferried passengers and their belongings out of San Francisco following the great earthquake. The company later expanded into tugboats and became recognized as an expert in transporting marine cargoes. The motto "Anything, Anywhere, Anytime on Water" was adopted and Crowley built a marine railway, dock and woodworking mill named Crowley Shipyard. Fleet expansion began as the company purchased the Red Stack tugs and raised, repaired and converted the laid-up coal barge, City of Panama. The company began transporting coal and other commodities to Australia and South America and entered a partnership that operated two steam schooners and three steel ships. Crowley also built four 150-foot wooden tugs with steam engines. Crowley expanded into Puget Sound with lighterage services and San Pedro with tugboat service. The company provided tug, launch and barge services in San Francisco Bay along with heavy-lift and derrick barge services. Crowley also constructed three water taxis. 1892 1900-1910 1921-1930 Crowley began offering bulk petroleum transportation services and won a concession to operate two passenger services from Treasure Island to the newly constructed Golden Gate Bridge. The company purchased oil barging equipment from Shell Oil and entered a new partnership to perform dredging, marine construction, heavy-lifting and other derrick barge services in the Los Angeles, Long Beach and San Diego harbors. 1931-1940 Crowley built its first petroleum-distribution terminal at the southern end of San Francisco Bay and transported bulk petroleum from San Francisco to Coos Bay, Ore., by barge for the first time. After the war, the company replaced all of its surviving steam tugs with war surplus diesel equipment and purchased additional surplus vessels such as a miki-class wooden hull, 1200-HP tug, flatdecks and other barges. The company towed the U.S. battleship Oklahoma from Hawaii to Oakland after it was bombed at Pearl Harbor. 1941-1950 1930 1910 1950 In the year 1911-1920 British supplying distant and communication Alaska transportation were completed the Arctic barge 1951-1960 1960 For more than a century, Crowley has set the standard for dependability and innovation. It was the forward-thinking, problem-solving skills of Thomas Crowley himself that turned an $80 investment in a Whitehall rowboat into a current day $2 billion maritime force. The following are but a few excerpts from the company's storied history. HISTORICAL HIGHLIGHTS OVER 125 YEARS OF GROWTH AND INNOVATION HISTORICAL TIMELINE