Sponsored By

Crowley formalizes new Global Ship Management and Government Services groups

Crowley Maritime has announced the formalization of two new groups: Government Services and Global Ship Management.  These two new, standalone business segments, which were previously embedded in other company business units, will allow Crowley and its personnel to better serve customers in these unique contracting segments. Leading the new business units are industry veterans Mike Golonka, vice president, government services, and Wendy MacDonald, vice president, Global Ship Management.

Michele Labrut, Americas Correspondent

November 10, 2015

3 Min Read
Kalyakan - stock.adobe.com

“Establishing these two new business groups will help Crowley focus its services for its distinct customer bases,” said Crowley’s Todd Busch, senior vice president and general manager, technical services.

The Government Services team combines the technical and professional capabilities of the company’s owned and managed fleets, under the direction of a team of tenured professionals, many of whom are mariners, to bring together best-in-class operations, engineering and contracting personnel. The team provides bundled vessel management solutions for the United States Maritime Administration, Military Sealift Command, and other agencies; custodial services for vessels seized by U.S. Government agencies; naval architecture and marine engineering services; project management and salvage and dive operations; and a host of other services. 

The Global Ship Management group – which includes international partnership Crowley Accord and Seattle-based subsidiary Maritime Management Services (MMS) – provides technical services and crew management as well as a broad range of back-office services to a variety of conventional vessel types such as tankers, container and general cargo, and Roll-on/Roll-off (Ro/Ro) vessels; along with specialised vessels such as deep-water pipe-layers, geotechnical and seismic research vessels; and offshore construction support vessels.

With offices in the US, Mumbai, Goa, Hong Kong and Amsterdam, Crowley’s global ship management group, including Crowley Accord, manages over 60 vessels in the US domestic and international markets. 

Leading the Government Services group is Mike Golonka, who previously served as vice president, ship management.  In this new role, he will continue reporting to Todd Busch, and will remain based in the company’s headquarters in Jacksonville, Fla.  Golonka and his team will develop and synchronize government services offerings across the Crowley portfolio and will further align the group with government contracting requirements, including time keeping, cost accounting and compliance with Federal Acquisition Requirement (FAR) clauses.

Golonka joined Crowley in 1987 and over the years has served as senior port engineer, manager of ship operations, director of engineering and director of contract operations prior to his appointment to general manager in 2009. Golonka graduated from Calhoon MEBA Engineering School, and holds an unlimited chief engineer license.

MacDonald, now leading the Global Ship Management group, is the former vice president of procurement.  She remains domiciled in Jacksonville and also reports to Todd Busch. She is responsible for all sales, marketing, engineering and operations activities for Crowley’s commercial ship management group and its growing number of customers and vessels. She will also oversee the activities for Marine Management Services and Crowley-Accord Ship Management, based in India.  MacDonald joined Crowley in 1992 as a management trainee and has held various positions of increasing responsibility within the company's container shipping organization, including manager of freight services for the Puerto Rico/Caribbean services group, manager of pricing for the Latin America services group, director of inland operations and most recently vice president of procurement. She has a bachelor's degree in business administration with a focus on marine transportation and intermodalism from California Maritime Academy. 

Read more about:

Crowley Maritime

About the Author

Michele Labrut

Americas Correspondent

Michèle Labrut is a long-time Panama resident, a journalist and correspondent, and has continuously covered the maritime sector of Central & Latin America.

Michèle first came to Panama as a press attaché to the French Embassy and then returned to the isthmus as a foreign correspondent in the 1980s.

Author of Seatrade Maritime's annual Panama Maritime Review magazine and of several books, Michèle also wrote for Time magazine, The Miami Herald, NBC News and the Economist Intelligence Unit. She has also collaborated in making several documentaries for the BBC and European and U.S. television networks.

Michèle's profession necessitates a profound knowledge of the country, but her acumen is not from necessity alone, but a genuine passion for Panama.

In 2012 she was awarded the Order of Merit (Knight grade) by the French Government for her services to international journalism and in 2021 the upgrade to Chevalier grade.

Get the latest maritime news, analysis and more delivered to your inbox
Join 12,000+ members of the maritime community

You May Also Like