MARAD awards vessel acquisition management contract to Crowley

Crowley Maritime Corporation’s Solutions business unit has been awarded a multi-year, $638 million contract for Vessel Acquisition Management (VAM) by the U.S. Maritime Administration (MARAD).

Crowley’s strategic acquisition and vessel management service will assist MARAD in the enhancement of the Ready Reserve Force (RRF), helping reduce the overall age of the fleet and increase ship reliability. The fleet executes U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) sealifts.

To carry out the contract, Crowley will use a new, proprietary information technology system to assess, research and make purchasing recommendations. Once the vessels are acquired, Crowley will oversee any required re-flagging, re-classification, modification and maintenance to ensure they are fit for service in compliance with U.S. Coast Guard, American Bureau of Shipping, and Defense Department requirements. After ships enter the fleet, Crowley will maintain and operate the vessels on behalf of MARAD.

“A successful VAM program is important to the U.S. as a maritime nation, the maritime industry and Crowley as we mutually invest in the strength of our nation,” said Mike Golonka, vice president, government ship management in Crowley Solutions. “We want to share our innovative, successful approach to vessel ownership and lifecycle engineering with the U.S. government.”

Building on over 20 years of experience managing MARAD and other government and Navy vessels, Crowley will use the web-based platform to perform data analysis of the lifecycle of vessels and their components. The SHIPFAX^TM platform will provide data-driven recommendations based on essential service requirements, as well as important factors to successfully manage and operate vessels.

Crowley will execute the contract with Stena Line, Serco and LCE (Life Cycle Engineering), who bring specialized and unique experiences and services in acquisitions, naval ship architecture, engineering and applied technology.