Our History
TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale was founded as Offshore Marine Towing Inc. in 1989 by Larry Acheson after several years of towing and salvage experience gained on the west coast of Florida. The initial operation was based in Oakland Park, FL with a single 24' Privateer providing towing services to the North Broward County marine community. Offshore Marine Towing joined the BoatU.S. (Boat Owners Association of The United States) towing program in 1989 and, a few years later, became one of the first TowBoatU.S. companies in South Florida.
In 1990, a marine operations base was established at the Lighthouse Point Marina. This relocation allowed TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale to provide a response time frequently less than 5 minutes to boaters in distress near the Hillsboro Inlet. Further business expansion resulted in the acquisition of larger and additional vessels to service an ever growing customer base. Service areas were expanded north from Broward County to the southern half of Palm Beach County and in 1994, TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale established a second base of operations at the Lauderdale Marina.
Four additional boats were acquired to assure immediate response to any location in the Broward and Dade regions. A third port was opened on the New River, Ft. Lauderdale in early 2005. This expansion guaranteed prompt response for towing yachts to and within the premier service facilities located on the New River. The tug Shillelagh, touting a specially designed wheelhouse allowing unlimited visibility in all directions and exclusively refit for this type of work, was launched in the fall of 2006.
Marine VHF radio only transmits “line of site”. Because of the curvature of the earth, higher antennas transmit and receive better. Over the years the company has worked toward continuously improving the ability to communicate with their customers. The first VHF high site and private company radio systems were added in the late 90’s and a second high site was added in 2002. These transmitters are between 350 and 1049 feet in the air. The systems have continuously been improved over the years and as of 2014, several different VHF high sites are employed with microwave links and voice over Internet protocol technology.
None of the company’s communications rely on traditional telephone lines and each method of communication has built-in redundancy. Every addition to these systems has been focused on improving customer service.
Having successfully completed thousands of salvage operations, TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale has accumulated an extensive inventory of salvage equipment. In 1997, TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale invested in our first Sunken Vessel Recovery Unit which was replaced with a larger unit in 2011. This large trailer houses the equipment used for raising sunken boats, pollution containment, and diving operations. Equipment includes generators, compressors, tools, pumps, air tools for underwater patching, air bags, absorbent materials, dive bottles, etc. Another benefit of the Recovery Unit is its mobility. It is easily transported to any emergency scene by using any one of our 1 Ton Super Duty trucks.
Beginning in 1998, TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale started to replace its fleet with new custom 31' twin diesel JCs. In addition, a 96 foot Offshore Supply Vessel was added to the fleet which is the cornerstone of the company’s charter fleet. In early 2000, three rigid-hull inflatable boats were included adding more rapid response, shallow draft versatility to the fleet. In 2003, TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale again enhanced its operation to include launch services to the local anchorages and the Florida Straits. Late 2006 marked the addition of a 46’ Launch boat featuring air conditioned passengers spaces as well as extensive fendering and other safety features. A landing craft was also added to serve the containment boom needs of the port community and in 2014, the company upgraded their fast response fleet by replacing all rigid-hull inflatable boats with Mil Spec aluminum Hybrid RHIB’s with 4 stroke outboard power.
Late 2012 marked another milestone in the company’s history. TowBoatU.S. moved their inland Pompano Beach base of Operations to a state of the art 5,000 Square foot office and dispatch center. The property also features an adjacent 10,000 square foot warehouse. This added space was much needed and designed with the future growth of the company in mind.
Through its continuing growth, TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale works hard to solve complex marine problems for a customer base that spans South Florida from Delray Beach south to Miami, east into the Bahamas and well beyond.
