An open letter from Dennis A. Pasentine
I love sharing the history of Florida Marine Transporters.
I began as a deckhand, right out of high school, and through the years I took on every possible crew position. As I progressed, I held the positions of Port Captain, Personnel Manager, Operating Manager and COO until ultimately becoming the owner of FMT in 1998. During its infancy, with the support of my family and a core group of loyal employees, I worked relentlessly to build a reputation as a safe and efficient operator, as well as a company dedicated to the success of its customers.
From day one, our motto has been “The Relentless Pursuit of Excellence.” Integral to that pursuit, Florida Marine’s boat and barge fleet was built from the start to be unrivaled in quality. Today, Florida Marine operates the youngest boat and barge fleet in the industry—an investment that consistently helps us achieve one of the best safety and performance records among our competitors.
Since 1998, the Florida Marine Group of diversified affiliated companies has been instrumental in the new construction of marine vessels in all five coastal states of Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana and Texas, as well as in Indiana, Illinois and Pennsylvania—representing a cumulative fair market value injected into the economy of approximately $1.5 billion.
During that time, we have achieved numerous milestones in our shipbuilding projects, which include:
- 275 tank barges capable of transporting all liquid Sub-Chapter D / Dangerous and Flammable cargoes ranging from asphalt to gasoline and more than 270 Sub-Chapter O listed chemical categories from amyl alcohol to xylenes.
- 59 canal class towboats ranging from 1,700 H.P. to 2,800 H.P.
- 16 river class towboats ranging from 3,300 H.P. to 6,000 H.P.
- 13 liquid petroleum gas (LPG) high pressure barges for all P/P Mix products, including butadiene and propane.
- 50 heavy duty open hopper barges utilized in the dry cargo trade.
- 22 heavy duty deck barges for the transportation of aggregate—from crushed stone to boulders—and heavy lift cargoes.
- 3 multiple purpose, dynamic spud barges.
- 3 self-contained floating dry docks for the FMT Shipyard with lifting capability of 1,000 tons to 3,000 tons.
- 10 service barges for oil pollution clean-up services.
- 1 bow steering unit using state-of-the-art technology.
- Rebuilding, re-powering and refurbishing 17 older Florida Marine towboats to bring them into the modern era of Sub-Chapter M certification.
In 2008, the Florida Marine Group took advantage of a strategic opportunity to expand its portfolio into a related business by opening FMT Shipyard & Repair, LLC. Located just outside New Orleans in Harvey, Louisiana, FMT Shipyard specializes in re-powers, full refurbishing, carpentry work, seal conversions, quick wheel changes, full underwater services, alignments, tank cleaning and steel work. It ensures the quality of all its repairs and improvements. FMT Shipyard operates as a full-service 24-hour repair yard comprised of the newest equipment in the industry, including three new floating dry docks.
In 2009, the Florida Marine Group established FMT Aggregate, LLC, which began the FMT Dry Cargo and FMT Aggregate divisions. Led by a first-class management team, these ventures quickly developed into the industry’s fastest-growing transporter of dry cargo. Operating on the Mississippi River and its tributaries, we created the ability to move freight along all sectors with unprecedented service and productivity. FMT Aggregate currently operates FMT Alexandria Terminal and two fleets, one at Grace Point and one at Old River.
In 2015, the Florida Marine Group’s capabilities continued to expand with FMT Aggregate’s establishment of its Marine Bulk Handling division. A loading and unloading equipment business, Marine Bulk Handling is known primarily for its barge unloading services while also providing land-based handling operations. With state-of-the-art equipment and experienced personnel, this division is capable of handling numerous products, such as aggregate limestone, riprap, sand, clay, iron ore, bauxite, dredge spoils, frac sand, super sack cargoes, synthetic aggregate and oyster bed materials, and has adapted to the changing markets and economic times by “partnering” with customers to meet their special needs and service requirements.
From a handful of boats, barges and loyal crew, we have systematically expanded to a diversified fleet of more than seven dozen boats, several hundred tank, deck, hopper and pressure barges, and close to 1,000 employees — all dedicated to our mission to transport our customers’ resources with the highest levels of safety, efficiency and environmental stewardship.
My family and I are deeply committed to the continued success of your business — and the active tradition of “hands on” ownership.
From all of the FMT family, I offer my deepest thanks.
Dennis A. Pasentine