Marine Towing of Tampa Acquires Seabulk Towing Assets from Bisso
Marine Towing of Tampa announced it is expanding its ship assist services to Florida's east coast following a deal with E.N. Bisso & Son to acquire towing assets formerly owned by SEACOR Holdings' Seabulk arm.
In September 2023, SEACOR divested its U.S. harbor towing operations, selling to Bisso 12 tugs across ports in Florida and Alabama.
Under a recently executed asset purchase agreement with Bisso, Marine Towing of Tampa acquired the Port Canaveral operations and assets from the SEACOR-Bisso deal and will operate them in Canaveral under a newly formed affiliate, Marine Towing of Port Canaveral. A company spokesperson told MarineLink that Marine Towing is currently chartering one tug, St. John, for use in Port Canaveral.
For Marine Towing—which currently provides ship assist services at Port Tampa Bay, SeaPort Manatee and other facilities throughout the Tampa Bay area and west coast of Florida, including Key West—its new operations in Canaveral marks an expansion beyond Florida's west coast.
"We are excited to broaden our operations to Florida's Space Coast," said Steve Swindal, Marine Towing's principal owner and chairman. "Port Canaveral, is home to some of the world's biggest and most popular cruise vessels, and a growing hub for petroleum products, bulk and breakbulk cargo business. This strategically positions us to cater to the logistical needs of central Florida, one of the fastest-growing regions in the United States. Furthermore, the port plays a vital role in the aerospace industry with its close proximity to the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station and NASA's Kennedy Space Center."
"Marine Towing is a highly regarded provider of ship assist services in the industry," said Capt. John Murray, Port Canaveral CEO. "We are pleased to welcome them to our port and look forward to a successful partnership collaboratively supporting our diverse cruise and cargo operations."