Crowley Begins Bunkering Bay Area Ship Assist Tug with Biofuel

Crowley Shipping and Shell Trading U.S. (STUSCO) have started using biofuel to power the tugboat Veteran, a ship assist and escort tug serving the San Francisco Bay market. The new bunkering contract will help Crowley reduce the carbon footprint and greenhouse gas impact of its maritime operations.

The Veteran, a 6,800-horsepower tug with a bollard pull of 90 tons, received its first bunkering of 24,000 gallons of low-carbon biofuel on March 9. It is a new step for Crowley's long-running operations in the Bay Area, where the company has had a presence since 1906.

Veteran joins the Crowley ATB unit Vision/650-10, a U.S.-flagged articulated tug-barge (ATB) which has been bunkered with biofuel from Shell Trading since December 2019. The ATB serves the U.S. and Canadian West Coast.

“Using biofuel continues Crowley’s commitment to enhancing the safety, sustainability and reliability of operations as stewards of the waters and communities that we serve,” said John Ara, Crowley's VP of commercial logistics and customer interface. “Our customers benefit from cleaner, efficient services that reduce our impact on the air and greenhouse gases, helping lead our industry toward greater sustainability.”

The biofuel is lower in carbon intensity than conventional fuel, and its use results in reduced greenhouse gas and air emissions, including both CO2 and SOx. The biofuel runs the vessels’ main engines, generators and barge generators.