What Crescent Towing does

Crescent Towing is a private ship assist and harbor towing services provider founded in 1942 and headquartered in New Orleans, Louisiana (Algiers). The company operates a fleet of 24 tugboats with horsepower up to 6,700 HP across three major U.S. ports — New Orleans on the Mississippi River, Mobile, Alabama, and Savannah, Georgia — providing vessel docking, undocking, shifting, and 24/7 emergency response services to commercial shipping operators. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of The Cooper Group (established 1905), which also owns Blakeley BoatWorks, the in-group shipyard where Crescent's newest tugboats are constructed.

Revenue is generated through per-assist fees and contracted tugboat services billed to vessel owners, operators, shipping agents, and port authorities handling Panamax, Post-Panamax, and Neo-Panamax vessels. The capital-intensive operating model centers on Tier 4 Z-drive tugboats, with the most recent vessels — including the M/V Kentucky and Hull 115 — delivered from the in-house shipyard between 2025 and 2026, and four additional 6,000 HP Z-drives scheduled for delivery between 2027 and 2029.

The company achieved 100% Subchapter M compliance in 2022 and has executed an EPA-funded emissions reduction project across ten vessels. It is also a participant in the SmartPort initiative with IBM and the Water Institute of the Gulf, focused on real-time shoaling forecasting and port-operations analytics on the Mississippi River. No other technology, software, or AI capabilities are disclosed in the input data.

Name

Crescent Towing

Legal name

CRESCENT TOWING Corporation

Website

https://crescenttowing.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1942

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Crescent Towing is a private ship assist and harbor towing operator founded in 1942 and headquartered in New Orleans, operating a 24-tugboat fleet serving commercial shipping across three U.S. ports.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Maritime Towing Services

NAICS

Support Activities for Water Transportation (4883), Other Support Activities for Water Transportation (48839)

SIC

Water Transportation (4400)

akta.pro primary industry

Harbor Towage (Ship Assist & Berthing/Unberthing) (TLAHAHAA)

akta.pro secondary industry

Escort Towage (Tanker/High-Risk Transits) (TLAHAHAB)

Keywords

• Ship assist towing
• Tugboat services
• Port towage
• Vessel escort
• Harbor operations

Headquarters

HQ city

New Orleans

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Infrastructure, Supply Chain, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Ship Assist Services: Crescent Towing provides ship assist services including vessel docking, undocking, escort, and towage operations at the Mississippi River, Port of Mobile, and Port of Savannah. Services are billed on a per-assist or contracted service basis, operating 24/7/365 with emergency response capability.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Crescent Towing provides ship assist towing services for commercial vessels at three major U.S. ports using a modern fleet of 24 tugboats with up to 6,700 HP. Services include vessel docking, undocking, escort, and towage operations on the Mississippi River (New Orleans), at the Port of Mobile (Alabama), and at the Port of Savannah (Georgia), available 24/7/365 with emergency response capability. The company supports Panamax, Post-Panamax, and Neo-Panamax class vessels through dedicated Z-drive tugboat fleets.

Product overview

Crescent Towing operates as a ship assist towing services provider operating one of the largest and most technologically advanced tugboat fleets in the world. The company provides a unified service portfolio centered on ship assist towing operations, with dedicated tugboat fleet assets including 24 tugboats with up to 6,700 HP, serving three major ports: Mississippi River (New Orleans), Mobile, Alabama, and Savannah, Georgia. The fleet includes Z-Drive (ASD) tugboats with power up to 6,000 HP Tier 4, offering capabilities for vessel docking, undocking, escort, towage, and ship assist services. Services operate 24/7 with emergency response capability.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Ship Assist Towing Services

Quantifiable outcome

• Reduced emissions by approximately two tons around Port of New Orleans through engine replacement on 10 tugboats (20 engines)
• +1 more outcomes

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Environmental InitiativecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022Partnership with Environmental Initiative, a national nonprofit organization, to replace 20 old diesel-powered engines on 10 Crescent Towing tugboats. Project funded through U.S. EPA Region 6 Diesel Emission Reduction Act grant. Reduces approximately two tons of emissions around Port of New Orleans.
• Water Institute of the GulfminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 10 June 2021Crescent Towing collaborated with the Water Institute of the Gulf during development of the Lower Mississippi River SmartPort & Resilience Center ($3 million initiative). Crescent Towing's fleet contributed depth data to inform port dredging operations through a real-time shoaling forecast tool.
• Blakeley BoatWorkscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOngoing vessel construction partnership with Blakeley BoatWorks in Mobile, Alabama for the build of 6,000 HP Tier 4 Z-drive tugboats for Crescent Towing's fleet. Vessels are 92' x 38' with twin Caterpillar 3516E engines and Kongsberg 255 Z-drives. Series includes M/V Angus R. Cooper II, M/V Gretchen V. Cooper, M/V Kentucky (delivered early 2026), Hull 115 (under construction), and four more vessels planned for 2027-2029. Blakeley BoatWorks is also a subsidiary of The Cooper Group.
• Crowley Engineering ServicescoreTechnology or IntegrationVessel designer for Crescent Towing's new build 6,000 HP Z-drive tugboat series. Designed the 92' x 38' escort towing vessel with 19' draft, featuring twin Caterpillar engines and Kongsberg 255 azimuthing drives.
• Women in Maritime Operations (WIMOs)minorGTM or Marketing PartnerCrescent Towing employees are active members of the WIMOs New Orleans chapter. The company hosted a WIMOs lunch and learn event and sponsored the inaugural WIMOs Golf Tournament in New Orleans in March 2022.
• American Waterways OperatorsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerCrescent Towing participates in American Waterways Operators activities, industry advocacy, and career awareness initiatives. Company staff hosted congressional staff visits organized by AWO Vice President Mark Wright.
• Port of New OrleanscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPrimary port of operation and SmartPort initiative partner. Crescent Towing works with Port NOLA on emissions reduction projects and port technology development. Port invested $6 million in local air quality improvements, reducing particulate emissions by 4.03 tons annually and nitrous oxide by 76.1 tons annually.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• McAllister Towing: Privately held U.S. tugboat operator with ship assist and harbor towing services across the East Coast, Gulf, and Great Lakes. Directly comparable as a multi-port harbor tug competitor with similar vessel mix and customer base.
• Moran Towing Corporation: One of the oldest U.S. tug operators providing harbor ship assist and escort towing along the East Coast and Gulf. A direct competitor for ship assist services to commercial vessels, with a similar tier-4 Z-drive fleet modernization underway.
• Ingram Marine Group: Large U.S. inland and Gulf marine transportation operator with barge, fleeting, and harbor towing capabilities on the Mississippi River system. Direct competitor on Lower Mississippi River ship assist and barge fleeting.
• G&H Towing: Texas-based tugboat operator providing harbor towing and ship assist services throughout the Texas Gulf Coast. Comparable as a regional tug competitor for Gulf trade, though geographically focused on Texas versus Crescent's Louisiana/Alabama/Georgia footprint.
• Signet Maritime: Houston-based operator of harbor tugs and offshore support vessels serving the Gulf Coast. Comparable as a Gulf harbor-towing competitor with ship assist services to commercial shipping customers.

Broad incumbents

• Crowley Maritime Corporation: Large, diversified maritime and logistics company that operates tug/ship assist services in the Gulf and Caribbean in addition to logistics, energy, and government services. Overlaps Crescent on harbor towage and is also the parent of the firm designing Crescent's new vessels.
• Foss Maritime Company: West Coast and Gulf tug operator providing ship assist, harbor towing, and barge services. Comparable as a U.S. tug fleet operator with ship assist capabilities, though primarily a Pacific Northwest player with Gulf exposure via legacy operations.

Others

• Bollinger Shipyards: Louisiana-based shipbuilder that constructs and repairs tugboats, patrol boats, and other vessels. Comparable as a U.S. tug construction counterpart relevant to Crescent's newbuild program economics, though it does not operate harbor towage services.
• American Waterways Operators: U.S. tugboat, barge, and towboat industry trade association. Comparable only as an industry/advocacy counterpart — not a tug operator, but relevant context for understanding Crescent's regulatory and policy environment.

Regional players

• Cooper/T. Smith Mooring: Sister company under The Cooper Group providing mooring, line handling, and dock services at Gulf ports. Comparable as an adjacent Cooper Group port-services business sharing customers and dispatch infrastructure with Crescent.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/CrescentTowingCo

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Crescent Towing