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The rapid growth of Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale, Florida during the mid 1950's demanded a more modern and flexible harbor towing operation. To meet these needs, Port Everglades Towing was established in 1958 to provide modern tug service to the growing seaport.
Challenger - pre 1958
Later that year, Port Canaveral Towing was established to assist the vessels delivering materials required for the space program at Cape Canaveral, Florida. Cape Canaveral Towing also provided docking and undocking services to merchant ships and to U.S. Naval vessels, principally missile tracking ships and nuclear submarines.
Margaret Matton - one of the original tugs in Port Everglades
Vixen - one of the original tugs in Port Everglades
In 1960 a third company, Gulf Coast Towing Company, was formed to serve ports in the Gulf of Mexico. The operation encompassed ocean towing of dry bulk barges throughout the Gulf, the Southeast Coast of the United States and the Caribbean.
Cape Canaveral Services Company was formed in 1962 to provide general marine support for the Army, Navy, Air Force and NASA at Cape Canaveral. The operation's diverse responsibilities included locating and recovering missile debris, developing and testing recovery procedures for astronauts, capsules and booster rockets for the space shuttle.
Mercury capsule recovery, Port Canaveral - 1962
Company engineers worked on ways to improve ocean towing operations, with the combined features of safety and efficiency. After testing at sea with the experimental tugs All American and Battler, engineers proved it was far more efficient for a tug to push an ocean-going barge than the widely accepted method of towing it.
In 1965, company engineers developed the tug Paragon specifically for push towing. Its propulsion system incorporated a ship-type propulsion system; a "fine" hull and an exceptionally efficient, large and slow turning propeller, which greatly reduced cavitation1. The Paragon was the first tug to employ a two-speed reduction gear which is an integral part of many tugs today.
Between 1988 and 2000, several new high-tech tractor tugs were added to the growing fleet. The highlight of this period was introduction of the Broward, a powerful 5,100-horsepower, omni-directional tractor tug, designed for tanker escort service in confined and environmentally sensitive areas like Port Everglades, where it is currently stationed.
In 1997 the company received delivery of the New River. Today, the design remains one of the most innovative designs in the maritime industry. The SDM™ has the ability to use 100% of its ABS-certified 120,000 lbs. of bollard pull to be applied in any direction while stationary against a ship's hull. Seabulk Towing received patent approval from the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office in 1998.
In 2001, Port Everglades Towing celebrated 43 years of continuous service to Port Everglades. Seabulk Towing's parent company, Hvide Marine rebranded as Seabulk International. Seabulk Towing's current President, Kenneth M. Rogers, was appointed in July 2001.
In 2004, Seabulk Towing announced a licensing agreement for its SDM™ technology to a major European tug operator. The tugs are now operating in the Port of Barcelona.
In July 2005, Seabulk Towing's parent company, Seabulk International, merged with SEACOR Holdings Inc. Seabulk Towing is a SEACOR company.
1The sudden formation and collapse of low-pressure bubbles in liquids by means of mechanical forces, such as those resulting from rotation of a marine propeller.
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