Three Crowley Maritime-managed tankers have been selected by the Maritime Administration (Marad) to serve in its Tanker Security Program (TSP).
The program ensures a commercial fleet can readily transport liquid fuel supplies in times of need for the Department of Defense.
The medium-range tankers are part of a joint venture between Crowley and Stena Bulk USA awarded TSP participation. The vessels — Stena Immaculate, Stena Imperative and Stena Impeccable — will be reflagged as U.S. registered vessels with U.S. crews. The tankers will continue operating in the international commercial trade but can be chartered on a short-term basis to serve the U.S. government’s operations.
“Crowley’s team with Stena Bulk offers government customers a deep, full suite of capabilities to maintain an efficient, dependable supply chain with management that adds value by being able to meet needs quickly and innovatively,” Gavin Hughes, vice president, Crowley Government Solutions, said in a statement.
Federal law requires the U.S. Department of Transportation and Marad to work with the Defense Department to establish a fleet of active, commercially viable, militarily useful, and privately owned product tankers to meet national defense and other security requirements. The initial fleet size is 10, and companies receive a stipend for each ship enrolled in support of the nation’s defense forces.
Crowley and Stena Bulk partnered before to serve the energy needs of the government and military. Crowley won the Military Sealift Command charter contract in 2022 to run the Stena Polaris, an Ice-class tanker serving bulk fuel needs of the Department of Defense in the Arctic and Antarctic regions as well as transporting fuel in the Mediterranean Sea region.
