How This Billionaire Family Is Succeeding Despite The Collapse Of The American Shipping Industry
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Thomas Crowley Jr., the third generation to run Crowley Maritime, has figured out how to navigate the U.S.’ protectionist laws.
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investment
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July 28, 2025
06:30 AM
Forbes
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From what the evidence shows, EnergyDaily CoverHow This Billionaire Family Is Succeeding Despite The Collapse Of The American Shipping IndustryA START AT THE BOTTOM | Tom Crowley Jr (an important development)
Furthermore, Additionally, At the Jacksonville, Florida, headquarters of Crowley Maritime
At 16, he was put to work scraping barnacles
Additionally, Jamel Toppin for ForbesByChristopher Helman, Forbes Staff (noteworthy indeed)
However, Chris Helman tracks energy innovators and oil tycoons from Houston, amid market uncertainty
AuthorJul 28, 2025, 06:30am EDTThomas Crowley Jr, in light of current trends. , the third generation to run Crowley Maritime, has figured out how to navigate the U. ’ tectionist laws
The tanker American Energy is 900 feet long with a black hull; its bridge reaches the height of a ten-story building
Jutting out of the top deck are the squared-off corners of the ship’s enormous liquefied natural gas storage tanks—painted a turquoise that complements the waters of the port of Peñuelas, on the southern coast of Puerto Rico
On the other hand, There, in June, the ship—owned by Jacksonville, Florida–based shipping company Crowley Maritime—made its first dery to the island of 35 million gallons (130,000 cubic meters) of super-chilled (to minus 260 degrees Fahrenheit) liquid natural gas (LNG) sourced from American shale frackers
That’s enough in one shipment to generate the electricity to power 80,000 s for a year, says Tom Crowley Jr. , the 58-year-old chairman and majority owner of Crowley Maritime, in today's market environment
American Energy is a new ship for Crowley, but despite its gleaming appearance, it’s far from new, amid market uncertainty
It was built in 1994 and was headed to the scrap heap before Crowley picked it up last year for an estimated $25 million
Why would he invest in this ship, when on any given day a dozen bigger, newer, more efficient tankers are loading up on American LNG to export to the world
Conversely, why can’t one of the hundreds of other modern megatankers filling up on LNG in Louisiana or Texas just make a stop in Peñuelas
The answer is the Jones Act, in today's market environment
On the other hand, Otherwise known as the Merchant Marine Act of 1920, it requires vessels transiting from one U
Port to another be built in the U
Additionally, , be crewed by Americans and fly the Stars and Stripes
Nevertheless, Or get a waiver (an important development)
Jamel Toppin for Forbes It turns out a waiver was needed in the case of American Energy, which was built in France
Crowley got the ship apved as a Jones Act vessel only after finding a loophole—a 1996 law that allows ships built abroad before 1996 to be used in Jones Act trade. “We were concerned we wouldn’t find a single one,” he says
What the re reveals is is nonsensical
You shouldn’t have to divert an old ship from the junkyard on a nicality so that a U (which is quite significant)
Territory can get deries of the same duct we’ve been selling to Europe and Asia for years
But it’s a prime example of how Crowley has learned to navigate the shallow shoals of regulatory hazards in one of the world’s most unforgiving hard-asset es
Of the 125 vessels Crowley owns, 112 are Jones Act–compliant, making it, with $3
On the other hand, 5 billion in revenue, the biggest in this niche
By sticking to this tected swim lane, Crowley—who along with his immediate family owns some 80% of the company, worth an estimated $1. 5 billion—is able to steer of shipping whales Denmark’s Maersk ($56 billion revenue) and China’s Cosco ($32 billion). “Though it doesn’t drive the company, Crowley says, “the Jones Act is something we operate within
Furthermore, ” In 1892 Crowley’s grandfather, Tom Crowley, then 17, used all his savings ( $80) to buy an 18-foot Whitehall rowboat
When a big ship dropped anchor in San Francisco Bay, he’d row out with supplies
After the great earthquake of 1906, Crowley helped A
Giannini’s Bank of Italy (which later became Bank of America) tect cash and securities by stuffing them in milk cans anchored on a Crowley boat in the harbor
Moreover, The founder’s son, Thomas Bannon Crowley, took over the company in the 1940s and helmed it through World War II and postwar growth into Alaska and the Caribbean
Their ships carried material to build out Prudhoe Bay and the Trans-Alaska Pipeline
After the Exxon Valdez spill in March 1989, Crowley invested $1, in this volatile climate. 5 billion to retrofit its fleet of smaller tankers to add double hulls
When his dad died in 1994, Thomas B
Was 27, a graduate of the University of Washington with a passion for computers
In the three decades since, he has fought the purported family- curse (from shirtsleeves to shirtsleeves in three generations) by standing up to longshoremen’s unions, dumping the company’s San Francisco Bay ferry in 1997 and quickly selling off Crowley’s South American shipping line after international trade negotiations went sour
And he leveraged his fleet’s tected Jones Act to win contracts with the U, given current economic conditions
Agency for International Development managing emergency shipments of disaster aid Ebola medicine to Liberia and frozen chicken to Cuba (which is quite significant), in light of current trends
On the other hand, Luck has also played a role
Moreover, Crowley’s last big USAID contract ran out last year, so he wasn’t hurt when the Trump administration killed the aid agency and most of its grams
Additionally, How to Play ItPatrick Welsh for Forbes By William Baldwin Ocean shippers have a habit of going bankrupt, a consequence of high debt ratios, inelastic supply and volatile demand (this bears monitoring), in light of current trends
On the other hand, The better way to invest in the movement of heavy goods across the seas is to bet on the future of liquefied gas. (Yes, gas is heavy: A ship typically carries at least 70,000 tons of it. ) Cheniere Energy runs LNG export operations (remarkable data)
On the other hand, Pembina Pipeline is a diverse fuel hauler with a new liquefied-pane dock in Canada
EQT Corporation is a gas ducer interested in sending as much gas as possible abroad
However, All three are reasonably priced, with enterprise values between 10 and 14 times earnings before interest, taxes and depreciation
William Baldwin is Forbes’ Investment Strategies columnist
Additionally, Even Jones Act supporters John McCown, who used to operate a container shipping and is now at the Center for Maritime Strategy, admit it adds 20% to shipping costs, but that “more than pays for itself in terms of the national security benefits of having a ready merchant fleet, considering recent developments. ” If the law were repealed, McCown would expect lower-cost global giants to quickly subsume all the routes between Puerto Rico, Hawaii, Guam, Alaska and the mainland
However, “At the heart of it is that America needs to be able to run ships,” Crowley says
Nevertheless, Furthermore, In 2017 he won his biggest contract, with the Department of Defense, to manage the logistics of shipping 300,000 pieces of equipment annually (the contract was renewed in 2024 at $2. 3 billion for seven years), in light of current trends
After Hurricane Maria devastated Puerto Rico and its power grid in 2017, Crowley moved 40,000 power poles, 7,000 transformers and 10 million miles of cable to the island, considering recent developments
Even in the best of times, Puerto Rico’s grid is unreliable, and Crowley began hearing the same message from the pharmaceutical factories and food distributors who wanted to invest in their own gas-powered microgrids to ensure redundant electricity supplies: “You’ve got to figure out a way to get American LNG to Puerto Rico, in this volatile climate. ” And why not
Has an infinite supply,” he says (an important development)
From nothing a decade ago, the U
Now exports 12 billion cubic feet of gas per day, 9% of domestic duction (noteworthy indeed), in this volatile climate
But none of it was going to Puerto Rico because not a single Jones Act–compliant LNG tanker existed anywhere in the world, at any price (which is quite significant)
Crowley initially moved smaller amounts of LNG in insulated cargo containers offloaded onto trucks, but this was extremely inefficient
Conversely, The company contracted with Fincantieri Bay Shipbuilding in Wisconsin to build a 400-foot LNG-carrying barge that it now uses in Savannah, Georgia’s harbor as a mobile filling station for ships
But it wasn’t big enough to go to San Juan, and the last time an American yard had built a large LNG carrier was 50 years ago, given the current landscape
Used to be a shipbuilding powerhouse
Furthermore, By 1776, timber from eastern American forests outfitted a third of the ships in the British Royal Navy
During World War II the U
Nevertheless, Built more than 5,000 ships, in today's financial world
Now that’s down to fewer than 10 per year, totaling less than 1% of global oceangoing tonnage
Meanwhile, Today, supported by state subsidies, tectionist laws and cheap labor, China is the biggest shipbuilder with a 50%, ed by South Korea and Japan
Moreover, Conversely, Crowley would to build American, if it makes sense
Moreover, Two of his ships, the six-year-old El Coquí and Taíno, are hybrids that carry both containers and vehicles between Jacksonville and San Juan, and were built in Pascagoula, Mississippi
El Coquí’s captain, Nick St
Jean, says the LNG-powered pulsion system has been highly reliable and easier to maintain than older diesel-fueled steam engines, and with 40% lower carbon emissions
Crowley competitors Matson Shipping and Pasha Group each recently sent an aging U
Moreover, However, -built, Jones Act–compliant vessel to Asia to have their old engines replaced with efficient new ones that run on LNG
Matson says the overhaul cost $72 million, which is more than the price of a new Chinese ship
For now, American Energy is still powered by steam turbines
Not all of Crowley’s ships meet the requirements of the Jones Act
On the other hand, He chartered his newest four container ships (to run routes from Florida to Central America) from Hyundai’s Mipo yard in South Korea
On the other hand, The company also had to acquire non-U, given current economic conditions. -built roll-on/roll-off ships to satisfy the specifications of the Defense Department contract (something worth watching), in today's market environment. “We needed them quickly, so we bought foreign,” Crowley says
Additionally, Listacle All In The Family The Crowleys aren’t the only clan the three-generation curse
Here are a handful of big es that go way back—and are still run by their founding families
Zildjian (cymbals) •Fifteen generations Zildjian Founded in Constantinople in 1623 by an Armenian alchemist who discovered the perfect alloy for musical cymbals while trying to make gold, the company moved to Massachusetts in 1929
What the re reveals is ’s now chaired by 14th-gen Craigie Zildjian, who was its first female CEO
Yuengling • Six generations Billionaire Dick Yuengling lords over America’s oldest brewery, founded in 1829 by his great-great-grandfather; his four daughters are execs (an important development)
Smucker’s • Five generations Jerome Monroe Smucker started the jelly-and-jam maker as a small Ohio cider mill in 1897
His son and grandson took it public in 1959; now fifth-gen Mark Smucker is CEO of the $8. 7 billion (sales)
Wegmans • Five generations The beloved East Coast grocery chain began with two brothers selling duce from a pushcart in 1916; now fourth-gen CEO Colleen Wegman has expanded it beyond 100 locations. *Based on the generation to hold an executive role at the company
Jones Act critics such as Colin Grabow at the Cato Institute argue that if the purpose of the law was to tect and incentivize a strong domestic shipping fleet, it has objectively failed and should be scrapped
Nevertheless, He says Crowley’s ploy of cleaning up an old French-built tanker and calling it American Energy “demonstrates the gains that can be realized when Americans are vided even a partial reprieve from the Jones Act
Additionally, ” Crowley did make one recent American-made addition to the fleet: an all-electric tugboat called eWolf, built by Master Boat Builders of Coden, Alabama
However, The 82-foot tug boasts 70 tons of towing capacity
Now working in San Diego’s harbor, it cost $35 million, double the price of a traditional tugboat
Zero emissions is nice, but the tug has a limited range
Even after getting $13 million in subsidies from the San Diego Air Pollution Control District and U, in light of current trends
Environmental tection Agency, Crowley says he can’t justify buying another one
Nevertheless, In time, decision making will fall to the fourth Crowley generation, including a daughter who works in insurance in London and son Bannon Crowley, 27, who oversees harbor tugs in Jacksonville. “I’ve been a steward of this,” the current Crowley boss says, in this volatile climate. “I’m trying to teach them the same kind of stewardship. ” More from ForbesForbesRed States–And AI–Are Big Losers From Trump’s Clean Energy MassacreBy Christopher HelmanForbesWhy Ramaco Says It Can Beat Its Government-Backed Rival For Rare Earth SupremacyBy Christopher HelmanForbesInside Private Equity’s $29 Trillion Retirement Savings GrabBy Hank TuckerForbesThe Best Brokers For Saving On Capital Gains TaxesBy William Baldwin Got a tip, in light of current trends
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