Centerline Logistics Acquires Saltchuk’s Refueling Operations
Centerline Logistics, Seattle, Wash., announced December 28 that it has acquired Saltchuk Marine Services’ California ship refueling business, currently operated by subsidiary Foss Maritime Company.
The expansion will substantially increase Centerline’s 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.
Centerline is the former Harley Marine Services. The name change, announced in January 2020, followed an equity ownership change in July 2019.
“Safe and versatile ship refueling is essential to keeping vessels and trade moving through American ports,” said Matt Godden, president and CEO of Centerline Logistics. “As one of the largest bunkering operators in the United States, we are excited about the synergies this acquisition will deliver to our customers. 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 was founded in 1987 as an oil transportation business focused primarily on providing ship refueling and general petroleum transportation. Today, its fleet includes double-hull barges equipped with state-of-the-art vapor recovery equipment, tank monitoring, alarm and inert gas systems. Over the course of 2020, Centerline made the decision to pursue a strategy focused on strengthening its premier service offering, safe petroleum transportation.
Centerline said it would partner with Foss during the transition to provide continuity of services. 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.
