A Milestone Year for TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale
As we look back on 2025, it was a year defined by leadership, growth and operational excellence. It was an exciting start to the year for TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale as Chloe Collins was announced as the company’s new President. Chloe joined the company in 2002 as a dispatcher and over the past 24 years, has played a pivotal role in shaping the company’s operations. Her leadership has been instrumental in implementing innovative systems, streamlining internal processes and managing complex negotiations with global insurers. Her dedication, vision and commitment to our core values have earned her widespread respect within the marine industry.
In addition to stepping into the role of President, Chloe was voted onto the BoatU.S. Towers Advisory Committee (TAC), a group of TowBoatU.S. port leaders who meet twice a year with BoatU.S. corporate leadership. In this role, she will have an influential voice representing TowBoatU.S. ports locally and across the country, helping shape decisions that impact the largest on-water towing network in the nation.
2025 also marked an important leadership promotion within our office team. Gillian Langford was promoted from Dispatch Supervisor to Office Manager. Gillian joined TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale in 2016 as a dispatcher and quickly proved herself to be a dependable leader within the company. In 2020, she was promoted to Dispatch Supervisor, where she played a key role in training new dispatchers, communicating with customers and supporting our captains on the water. Her hard work, dedication and strong alignment with our core values made her the natural choice for this next step. We are proud to see Gillian step into this leadership role and look forward to the continued impact she will have on shaping the future of the company.
From an operational standpoint, 2025 was a strong year marked by several complex tows, salvages and charters. Our team completed two major long-distance yacht tows, one from Isla Mujeres to Port Everglades (over 1,000 nautical miles round trip) and another from Antigua to Fort Pierce (over 2,800 nautical miles round trip). These long-distance tows require detailed planning, weather routing and disciplined offshore execution. We also recovered a grounded NOAA navigation buoy in the northern Bahamas, along with handling numerous challenging salvages throughout the year. Click here to view our salvage gallery.
TowBoatU.S. Ft. Lauderdale was also awarded a contract from Broward County to serve as the new line handlers for Port Everglades. This role is a critical part of keeping the port functioning efficiently and on schedule. Our captains and crew now assist with transferring cruise ship mooring lines to the dolphin structures at Berth 29, ensuring vessels are safely secured. It is a responsibility we take seriously and are proud to support as part of the continued growth of our operations.
Those are just a few highlights from 2025 and as we look ahead to 2026 we remain grateful for our dedicated team, loyal members, trusted partners and the confidence placed in us to perform when it matters most. This past year reflected great progress, professionalism, and strong performance. We look forward to carrying that momentum into the year ahead.
