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40 | Maritime Professional | 1Q 2014 CROWLEY MARITIME CORPORATION Although owned by Crowley, Jensen Maritime’s client base is wide and includes all sizes and types of tonnage. That said; Jensen Maritime Vice President Johan Sperling said that his fi rm has a unique view on the industry that, perhaps, some competitors do not. That window potentially provides a sharper look at what could come next. Ongoing in- house projects include the LNG bunker barge, the LNG-powered tug, LNG powered ATB designs and of course, the design work with the larger, faster and environmentally-friendly liquefi ed natural gas (LNG)-powered, combination container – Roll-On/Roll-Off (ConRo) ships. Already in the thick of LNG, Jensen will provide construction management and supervision in the shipyard throughout the building phase of the ConRo’s. The LNG arena is new, exciting and bursting with great potential to transform the transportation and energy landscape forever here in North America. A lot of work remains to be done. But Johan Sperling said, “It’s also not rocket science.” A Unique View for Jensen Maritime “Clearly it was not anticipated that our equipment would be moving crude,” Crowley said. “We felt that the domestic fl eet would be moving product from refi nery to refi nery. The other big trade for us was supplying Florida from the Gulf, but with gasoline and diesel, we never expected crude to be moving. We are moving crude from Corpus Christi to the Louisiana Offshore Oil Port (LOOP). Our tanker is so small, as I un- derstand it, we only fi ll up the pipeline from the header to the shore. We don’t even get enough crude in the pipeline to get it to land, but that’s the most effi cient way to move it” because there is no infrastructure yet in place. Safety: Job One In regards to safety, Crowley is somewhat fanatical, and given that half of its business is derived in and around the en- ergy sector, it is understandable. Regarding the safety culture at Crowley, Tom said “You can’t just put it in a policy manual and leave it at that, you have to have people always thinking about it. We have found that by keeping it ever-present in our heads, that’s what gets safety performance moving.” Crowley often repeats the mantra of “the right people with the right tools” in describing his company, particularly in re- gards to safety and effi ciency. From his experience, staying diligent is a cornerstone to grooming an effective safety cul- ture. While the marine market is notoriously cyclical, a com- pany’s commitment to safety cannot. “When you face tough economic times, a lot of people want to jump to cost cutting and saving,” Crowley said. “But you can’t send mixed messages to your team. You can’t demand performance then take away their tools. The perfect example is our safety performance. While it has cost us a lot, it has saved us a lot, whether in terms of accidents or things we don’t see. In the last fi ve years we have had an 80% reduction in our Lost Time Incidents (LTIs), and I think if you looked at us fi ve years ago, we were thought of as a really safe company. I think it goes to show if you put resources in, you will see results.” That’s why every guest who enters a Crowley offi ce receives a safety brochure, and why every meeting, every pre-project MP Q1 2014 34-49.indd 40 2/26/2014 1:29:41 PM
