Centerline Logistics acquires Saltchuk’s California bunkering business
Written by Marine Log StaffSeattle, Wash., based Centerline Logistics reports that it has acquired Saltchuk Marine Services’ California ship refueling business, currently operated by Saltchuk subsidiary Foss Maritime Company.
The expansion will see Centerline substantially grow its existing California bunkering operations. Centerline will acquire Foss’s six bunker barges as well as its established customer contracts in the California market.
Centerline currently operates eight bunker barges in the ports of Los Angeles and San Francisco, part of a national fleet of marine transportation vessels serving customers along the West Coast, Gulf Coast and East Coast.
“Safe and versatile ship refueling is essential to keeping vessels and trade moving through American ports. As one of the largest bunkering operators in the United States, we are excited about the synergies this acquisition will deliver to our customers,” said Matt Godden, president and CEO of Centerline Logistics. “With Foss’s California bunker barges joining Centerline’s fleet, we will be in an even stronger position to provide our full suite of industry-leading maritime refueling services—from small vessels to the world’s largest ships.”
Centerline Logistics, the former Harley Marine Services, was founded in 1987 as an oil transportation business focused primarily on providing ship refueling and general petroleum transportation. Today, the company’s petroleum services fleet includes double hull barges equipped with state-of-the-art vapor recovery equipment, tank monitoring, alarm and inert gas systems.
Centerline says that there will be a short transition period during which Foss will continue to operate the bunker barges before Centerline takes operational control of the vessels.