Internship Report: Crowley Maritime Corporation

Internship Report: Crowley Maritime Corporation (cmc)

CMC Background

Thomas Crowley, the grandfather of current Chairman, President and CEO Thomas B. Crowley, Jr., began Crowley Maritime Corporation (CMC) during 1892 with the purchase of an 18-foot Whitehall boat he used to transport personnel and supplies to ships anchored on San Francisco Bay. In Two Men at the Helm, an historical account of CMC, Thomas B. Crowley Sr. recounts his business practices, and credits what he learned about business to his father. "All his life, every dollar my father ever made he plowed back into the business....Some people call that being a miser, some people call that saving, some people call it reinvesting in business" (Two Men...1992). Currently, Crowley Maritime Corporation serves as a holding company for the business lines in the company's present structure, which were established in 1992 (Crowley 2003).

For three generations, CMC has continued to operate as a privately owned company. Through the acquisition of liner operations and many other various fields in the maritime industry, CMC is able to draw upon more than a century of experience (Crowley). Thomas Crowley, the grandfather of current Chairman, President and CEO Thomas B. Crowley, Jr., began CMC during 1892 when he purchased an 18-foot Whitehall boat to provide transportation of personnel and supplies to ships anchored on San Francisco Bay. The present structure, in which Crowley Maritime Corporation serves as a holding company for the business lines, was established during 1992 (Crowley 2003, Company Overview section). Figure 1 presents a photo of the founder of CMC.

Figure 1: Thomas Crowley, Founder of CMC (Two Men...1992)

The condensed writing in Figure 2 (following) explains the process the early CMC completed in the business realm. "In the late 1800s, Whitehall boatmen rowed out to ship anchored in San Francisco Bay or sailed beyond the Golden Gate to meet ships coming in, and negotiated with vessel captains to provide taxi services and delivery of goods. Here, two Whitehalls have 'hooked on' behind a British ship, which is herself under tow. A third Whitehall is alongside the ship" (Crowley 2003, History section).

Figure 2: CMC's Early Business Ventures (Two Men... 1992, Foreword section).

Current Business

To conduct its principle business, providing marine transport and tow services on the water, CMC utilizes a fleet of more than 210 vessels. These vessels include "RO/RO (roll on roll off) vessels, LO/LO (lift on lift off) vessels, tankers, tugs and barges" (Ibid). Today, CMC employs approximately 4,100 people. The company's land-based facilities and equipment include terminals, warehouses, tank farms, office buildings, containers, chassis, cranes, trucks, trailers, along with numerous other dedicated vehicles (Crowley 2003, Company Overview section). CMC currently provides diversified transportation services in domestic and international markets, utilizing the five operating lines of business:

Liner Services,

Logistics,

Marine Services,

Petroleum Service, and Technical Services. (Crowley 2003, Company Overview section)

The primary services CMC offers through its five business lines include:

www.crowley.com/liner-shipping-services/default.asp" Liner Services www.crowley.com/logistics/default.asp" Logistics www.crowley.com/energy-support/default.asp" Energy Support www.crowley.com/project-management/default.asp" Project Management www.crowley.com/ocean-towing-transportation/default.asp" Ocean Towing & Transportation www.crowley.com/petroleum-chemical-transportation/default.asp" Petroleum & Chemical Transportation www.crowley.com/fuel-sales-distribution/default.asp" Fuel Sales & Distribution www.crowley.com/ship-assist-escort/default.asp" Ship Assist & Escort

Salvage & Emergency Response www.crowley.com/vessel-construction-architecture/default.asp" Vessel Construction & Naval Architecture www.crowley.com/ship-management/default.asp" Ship Management. (Crowley 2003, Company Overview section)

Figure 3 portrays a synopsis of CMC's history:

Figure 2: Time Line of CMC (adapted from Crowley 2003, History section).

Mission Statement of CMC

To be a leader in our markets by providing world class services that ensure long-term company durability" (Crowley 2003, Our Mission section).

Business CMC performs Crowley's business of ocean towing and transportation encompasses all areas of the world. On Crowley's Web site, the company asserts that "it" offers:

diverse fleet of high horsepower tugs to meet your towing requirements on a world-wide basis

Large 400 x 100 deck barges capable of carrying up to 12,000 tons

Safe, dependable service, on time, and within budget

General cargo movements, ship tows, offshore production components, and other heavy lift / high volume projects. (Crowley 2003, Ocean Towing & Transportation section)

Figure 1 and Figure 2 show CMC in action on the ocean.

Figure 1: Crowley Ocean Towing Tug Barge (Crowley 2003, About Us section).

Figure 2: Crowley Ocean Towing Tug Barge (Crowley 2003, About Us section).

Matt Jackson, promoted to vice president of procurement during 2007, is responsible for all of CMC's materials management and purchasing.

Equipment purchasing constitutes a responsibility the purchasing department fills. The intermodal pricing, detention and demurrage, and equipment administration, however, were for another department during 2007 (Crowley announces..., 2007)

Liner Michael G. Roberts, partner with the law firm Venable LLP., submitted testimony on behalf of Crowley Maritime Corporation (Crowley), that Crowley ranks as one of the leading shipping companies based in the United States (Rebuilding Vessels..., 2008). Crowley, reportedly also leads the ocean cargo carrier business, operating between the United States and Puerto Rico, the Caribbean, Bahamas, Central America, Dominican Republic, Haiti and Cuba (Crowley 2003). As Crowley operates its fleet that exceeds 200 vessels on all the world's coasts, it provides aa diverse array of services in U.S. domestic and international maritime markets. The myriad of services Crowley provides include "container shipping in domestic and Latin American trades; petroleum and chemical transportation services; logistics; ship assist and vessel escort services; ocean towing and transportation; marine salvage and emergency response; and other activities" (Rebuilding Vessels..., 2008, p.1). CMC's addition of two new, bigger, faster container ships, the Eclips and Ocean, enhances Crowley services relating to the Caribbean islands. As these ships replace two older models, they offer approximately 200 more TEUs of capacity, along with double the number of reefer plugs the ships they are replacing, the Sea Gale and Sea Cloud, possessed. They run approximately 18.5 knots; bout two knots faster than the older models (Crowley introduces..., 2007, p.1).

Logistics Each year, Crowley Maritime handles more than 34,000 intermodal containers, while it simultaneously serves every Class 1 railroad. In the 48 contiguous states in the U.S., CMC routinely provides local, over-the-road, and commercial trucking services. Crowley also provides multiple, fixed-day, weekly sailings to most markets, as well as implementing some of the industry's fastest transit times, Full Container/Trailer Load (FCL, FTL) transportation, Less Than Container/Trailer (LCL, LTL) transportation, and all intermodal administrative services, including gate inspections (Crowley 2003, Liner Shipping Services section).

Energy Support CMC proffers "solutions" to/for energy companies to help facilitate positive results amidst their exploration and production challenges. CMC's capabilities include support services for offshore construction; energy logistics, support services for Alaskan energy pursuits; specialized cargo transport; storage of remote crude (Crowley 2003, Capabilities section). During 2008, Bill Hill, who possesses extensive experience in project management, module construction and transportation, on the North Slope and in Russia has joined CMC's energy and marine services group in Anchorage, joined CMC as director of business development. His role/responsibilities include sales and overseeing peration of the North Slope businesses as CMC continues to pursue energy related opportunities in Alaska and in the Canadian; Russian Arctic.(Hill joins..., 2008).

Project Management as it allocates control of their resources to the customer, CMC provides logistics for construction, engineering and infrastructure projects. Past projects have included, but not limited to the following:

Sakhalin Island Project (2002)

Chevron LL-652 Installation Project

FSO Construction, Mobilization, Installation - Venezuela (1998)

Plant Construction - Atlantic LNG Project (1997-1998)

Off-Shore Platform Installation - Heerema Offshore Services U.S.

Puerto Rico Projects -- ABB, General Electric and Bechtel

Off-Shore Platform Installation - McDermott

Nigeria: Floating Production Platform - Chevron. (Crowley 2003, Past Projects section).

Ocean Towing and Transportation CMC employs the "right' individuals and possessed the appropriate gear and knowledge to provide reliable shipping and logistics services for general cargo movements. The company is also more than adequately prepared to provide offshore production machinery, ship tows and help fill the needs other projects needing specific marine transportation services may require. During 2006, reports note that "VT Halter Marine Inc., Pascagoula, Miss., recently secured a third contract with Crowley Maritime Corporation's subsidiary, Vessel Management Services...., to build four additional Articulated Tug Barge (ATB) units. The vessels, including the cost of owner furnished equipment, are valued at about $240 million (Crowley, VT Halter..., 2006). VT Halter Marine also secured contracts for 10 ATB's from the Crowley unit. This deal, which included the cost of owner furnished equipment, totaled more than $500 million (Crowley, VT Halter...). During 2006, Crowley Maritime accepted delivery of the first of the 10 ATB's; scheduling the delivery of subsequent units at regular intervals through late 2010. The delivery of the last four units of ATBs, will reportedly occur between the first half of 2009, and the second half of 2010 at regular intervals. The units possess the capability to transport refined products, and may also transport heated cargoes, as well as easy chemicals, which according to legal constraints, contrary to standard product carriers, must be accompanied by special arrangements of vents, stripping systems, pump components and tank coatings (Crowley, VT Halter..., 2006).

Internship Daily Report

Monday November 5, 2007 'Today, I travelled to the Crowley offices in Port Everglades to begin my first day of internship with CMC. After meeting Ms. Aida Ortiz, CMA's Human Relations Specialist, she presented a brief overview of the office and explained the particular responsibilities my internship would encompass during the two-week period. The first "order" was to have my port ID made. After being officially identified as part of the intern program, Ms. Ortiz and I attended the 0930 morning operations meeting. After the meeting, I worked with Jackie Fisher, supervisor of CMC Equipment Control. While observing her work practices, I gained a firsthand overview of the department processes, which included: Equipment assignment, Vessel reconciliations, and Seal and Weight Verification. My intern experience this day also included work with electronic data interchange computer system. During the afternoon, I received hands on experience comleteing Vessel Reconciliation; ensuring the containers were "married up" with the right chassis.

Tuesday November 6, 2007 on this day, I worked with Gloria Pratts in Freight Services, who secured one of her employee's cubicles for me to work in. Ms. Pratts gave me an overview of Traffic Procedures; Tracing and Load- equipment; Finals to Stevedoring; Overview of Inbound Processes; Release of Cargo; Manifest Reconciliation. My experience on this day also included work with the program automated manifest system. In the afternoon, I worked on a vessel to help develop a manually written paperwork of materials / products removed from the ship; matched what materials/products assigned to be removed. During this particular project, I noted a number of misspelled numbers, missing numbers and number that did not match up with designated purposes. This particular project required approximately four hours to complete.

Wednesday November 7, 2007 at 0800 on this day, I met with Michaels Hopkins, who warmly welcomed me and my fellow interns. Mr. Hopkins summarized what he hoped we would learn from the company. After his overview, the other interns and I attended the 0900 morning operations meeting with Mr. Hopkins. Next, I met with Marcia Brown, another employee in Freight Services, who provided a detailed description of relevant duties for this department; recounting things I learned the previous day. I then watched over the shoulder of an unidentified individual to begin to learn about the Pegasus system. Later that morning, another employee drive me to the U.S. Customs House to witness the notarization process of the inbound and outbound documentation. My work after lunch included looking up a list of booking numbers on the Pegasus system to locate the matching contact and verify that the customer's cargo was not hazardous, and that it had not been transported to a bonded warehouse. I also examined the Bill of Lading for the matching number during this time. This exercise taught me how to directly handle the customer's order; consequently equipping me to contribute to Crowley's quest to maintain a positive customer service reputation.

Thursday November 8, 2007 for my first appointment today, I met with Charles Meridth, in charge of Maintenance department. After he gave me an overview of this area, Mr. Meridth escorted me to the shop area where employees repair broken equipment; i.e. lashing, containers, and tires. He then pointed out the three lanes used for inspection of the trucks, prior to their departure from the port. Employees in this department examine tires; specifically searching to discover under pressurized tires, and identifying repairs that need to be made to the alignment and various parts. Next, we moved on the Reefer Bay where CMC houses the generators for refrigerated containers. The rationale for the refrigeration includes ensuring that when customers' shipped containers arrive in Central America and/or the Caribbean, ensuring contents remain cool does not depend on unreliable shore power. After observing practices/work in this area, I visited the warehouse where CMC houses all offices supplies that ship on the ships to their various Crowley offices in South America. Mr. Meridth showed me the company's recently installed "new and improved" washing area for cleaning containers. After lunch I travelled to recently installed the dock area and observed the cargo "checkers" as they recorded in writing what items were removed from the ship. Mr. Meridth also explained in details how the sick-bay operations work; from how the inspectors/checkers tagged the broken container to be repaired and returned to operational status. As part of my intern experience this day, I also assisted in inspecting empty containers and rating each one I inspected with either "A" (perfect), "B," or "C."