Cook Inlet Tug & Barge (CITB), a subsidiary of Foss Maritime Company, announced today that it has purchased all of Crowley’s Prudhoe Bay, Alaska, assets. This includes tugs, barges, heavy machinery and other vehicles and equipment.

“These assets are already positioned on the North Slope,” said John Parrott, president and CEO of Foss. “They are operationally ready to perform shallow-draft tug and barge services and offer us the opportunity to expand our Alaska operations.”

The vessels and marine assets have spent their entire operating years on the North Slope. “The shallow draft design of the vessels makes them ideal to service the North Slope and Western Alaska Markets,” said CITB's Mike O’Shea. “In addition, the vessels are all in excellent condition.”

Cook Inlet Tug & Barge plans to streamline its operation by focusing on marine equipment and partnering with established shore side service providers in Prudhoe Bay.

“CITB is excited about the addition of this fleet. We look forward to working with companies on the North Slope, and providing leaner options to the oil and gas industry,” said Parrott.

David Krapf has been editor of WorkBoat, the nation’s leading trade magazine for the inland and coastal waterways industry, since 1999. He is responsible for overseeing the editorial direction of the publication. Krapf has been in the publishing industry since 1987, beginning as a reporter and editor with daily and weekly newspapers in the Houston area. He also was the editor of a transportation industry daily in New Orleans before joining WorkBoat as a contributing editor in 1992. He has been covering the transportation industry since 1989, and has a degree in business administration from the State University of New York at Oswego, and also studied journalism at the University of Houston.