Signet wins long term Trailer Bridge towing contract

MAY 13, 2015 — Signet Maritime Corporation, Houston, TX, has completed Phase II of a $250 million capital expansion program with the integration of the Harvey Gulf offshore towing vessel fleet that it acquired one year ago (see earlier story). The corporate strategy was to design and own vessels for multi-disciplinary work, and diversify with the addition of the powerful offshore vessels. This has enabled Signet to broaden its services into new market segments.

As part of this U.S. expansion, Signet has been awarded multi-vessel, long term charters by Trailer Bridge, Inc. to perform weekly sailings from Jacksonville, FL, to San Juan, Puerto Rico and Puerto Plata, Dominican Republic. The contracts were brokered through Compass Maritime Services, LLC, specialists in the sale, purchase, and charter of ships and offshore vessels.

Three Signet towing vessels underwent a combined $2.3 million in upgrades for these projects, with Signet Shipbuilding & Repair providing the labor, refurbishment and management oversight.

The three are:

• Signet Trojan, ABSXA1, Towing Service, XAMS, SOLAS Compliant, 75.70 t bollard pull
• Signet Titan, ABSXA1, Towing Service, XAMS, SOLAS Compliant, 82.81 bollard pull
• Signet Lightning, ABS Loadline, Towing Service, 98.76 bollard pull

Signet has appointed Mr. Timothy M. McGriff to the position of Marine Superintendent, Operations & Engineering in Jacksonville. This Signet office will provide 24-hour customer service with on-site management and control of all aspects of the operation.

“The expansion into Jacksonville exemplifies Signet’s commitment to going above and beyond in every aspect of our business,” says Mr. Joshua T. Ervasti, Manager, Ocean Towing Scheduling & Logistics. “We are ensuring that we are there every step of the way to support our customer, our employees, our vendors and continually strive to exceed their expectations. I’m excited to see the partnership between the two companies expand throughout the years.”