Conceptual rendering of the Humboldt Bay Offshore Wind Heavy Lift Marine Terminal | Photo: Harbor District

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What will come of Crowley’s partnership with the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District?

Crowley Maritime, a private marine services and logistics company working on offshore wind and port development on the North Coast, has been the subject of criticism in recent months following allegations of sexual misconduct among some company higher-ups.

Just last week, the Outpost received word that Jeffrey Andreini, Vice President of Crowley Wind Services, had parted ways with the company amid allegations of inappropriate conduct with another Crowley employee. The company also faces two federal sex trafficking lawsuits that allege “terrifyingly similar fact patterns” in which women were taken on international business trips from the United States to El Salvador and allegedly abused by the same supervisor.

The allegations have prompted calls from some local stakeholders and tribal leaders asking the Harbor District to reconsider its partnership agreement with Crowley. In a recent op-ed published in the Times-Standard, Yurok Tribal Chairman Joe James said the allegations depict “a rotten company culture” and “give necessary reasons to consider reopening negotiations regarding port development” in Humboldt County.

The Harbor District has given no indication that it will reconsider its partnership agreement with Crowley. And, after talking with Crowley officials, it seems the project is full steam ahead.

Earlier this week, the Outpost sat down for a virtual interview with a couple of folks from Crowley – Amy Monier, director of projects for the Humboldt Offshore Wind Terminal Project, and Bob Karl, senior vice-president and general manager of Crowley Wind Services – to discuss the recent controversy and the company’s future here in Humboldt County.

Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

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LoCO: As I’m sure you are aware, there are at least two local tribes – the Yurok Tribe and the Blue Lake Rancheria – that have submitted written comments to the Humboldt Bay Harbor, Recreation and Conservation District citing concerns about Crowley’s “public record of sex trafficking, and forced labor allegations and violations, environmental violations, and business operation issues and violations,” according to a letter from the Blue Lake Rancheria. These tribes have also criticized Crowley for failing to address their concerns directly and have called upon the Harbor District to reconsider its port development partnership with Crowley. What has Crowley done and/or is doing to address these concerns?

[DISCLOSURE: The Blue Lake Rancheria is a minority owner of Outpost parent company Lost Coast Communications, Inc.]

Bob Karl: This is pending litigation, and we really don’t discuss individual cases such as this. But what I can tell you is that Crowley makes the safety of all of our people and all of our partners, including the communities where we do business, a top priority. We take these specific allegations very seriously and understand why there are concerns in the community. We are handling questions and the process of litigation through the appropriate legal channels but, unfortunately, I just can’t speak about legal issues. 

Bob Karl | Crowley

What I would say though is Crowley’s taken numerous steps to train its employees to recognize when to speak up. Every employee goes through and completes regular training to proactively avoid, recognize and prevent harassment and discrimination [to] really promote a ‘speak up culture’. If you see something, say something about it. We have a strong policy of not just prohibiting harassment and discrimination, but really zero tolerance for retaliatory actions, which is key. You can’t have one without the other. You can’t have folks worried about retaliation if they raise your hand. This is a very important part of the process that Crowley has implemented. And for years, [we’ve had] a publicly published ethics hotline and an online reporting platform. 

I’ve been with Crowley for just about a year now and before that, I was with a very large multinational corporation. The programs that I’ve seen in my short time with the company [regarding] sustainability, employee culture [and] how to prevent some of these awful things from happening – they’re some of the best that I’ve seen throughout my career.

Amy Monier: I second what Bob has said. I’m a part of the community as well, I live here. As a recent employee of Crowley myself, the policies and procedures in place are equivalent if not better than policies I’ve seen at other companies I’ve worked for. Safety in the community is paramount on this project as we move forward.

Amy Monier | Crowley

LoCO: Local tribes are concerned that the port development project and the surge in out-of-town workers could increase sexual assault, sex trafficking and Missing or Murdered Indigenous Persons (MMIP) in Humboldt County. The Yurok Tribe in particular has stated that the developer must have “the right company culture,” one that “protects women [and is] eager to partner with tribes across the region to develop a strong prevention plan” for MMIP. I think the tribes are really looking for a commitment from Crowley. Can you speak to that as well?

Karl: We have spoken to multiple members in the tribal nations and we are 100 percent behind supporting all of the MMIP efforts. I have personally given my assurances that we wouldn’t move forward with a project of this magnitude and this complexity if we thought that we could not keep the community, our partners and the tribal nations safe. Not only during the construction processes but also during the operations component. This terminal is gonna run for 20 or 30 years. We’re building a world-class wind terminal right in your backyard and our goal is to put in place processes, procedures, and standards of care that will not allow for those atrocities to happen. We are fully aligned with the tribes’ concerns around MMIP.

LoCO: I’d also like to ask you about the recent departure of Jeff Andreini, the former vice president of Crowley Wind Services. I assume you can’t share any details about his departure, but I’m hoping you can speak to the change in leadership and who’s going to fill that local position.

Karl: Amy is Crowley’s lead on-the-ground [representative] for this project. We hired her four months ago with the intention of her becoming the director of port development in Humboldt. Our plan is to have her transition into the lead role to operate the terminal once construction is complete. I really feel it’s important to have continuity and leadership throughout the full development process and into the operations phase. Amy is our leader on the ground who is really driving this project forward.

Monier: I took this position with Crowley four months ago looking to lead the port development for Crowley. I was really excited about taking the position, A) because it’s in our backyard as we both live here and B) there’s really an opportunity to help the community with workforce development, bringing in our sustainability vision [and] looking at community benefits. There’s so much potential here and I’m really excited to be part of it.

LoCO: Again, there’s been a lot of pushback against Crowley in recent months and I’d like to know what that means for Crowley’s agreement with the Harbor District. Based on this conversation, it sounds like it’s full steam ahead. Is Crowley going to move forward with a lease agreement with the Harbor District by the end of the year as planned?

Monier: We appreciate the strong partnership with the Harbor District and we’re optimistic that we’ll continue to find a path forward to build this world-class port with the Harbor District. Negotiations are progressing on the lease, but as you mentioned, there’s been some concerns raised. We’re very focused on addressing those concerns and developing a community benefits agreement that will consider concerns brought up in the community and from the various tribal nations. Our focus is going to be spending time with the community and tribal nations so we can continue to learn about the values and cultures and concerns. …

On the topic of MMIP, again, as Bob has already said, Crowley is 100 percent aligned to partner and be a part of the solution to make sure that these atrocities don’t happen on the project and in the community moving forward.

Karl: Whenever we launch a project of this scale and size or build something that’s going to be around for 20 or 30 years, you become part of that community. And the only way to truly become part of a community is to understand the culture, the heritage and the concerns that surround that community. That starts with understanding the history and really becoming part of the solution to make sure that anything that might have happened in the past doesn’t happen again with your project. We’ve had some productive conversations with folks, both in the tribal nations and in the community, to really understand what those concerns are and we really do look forward to putting steps in place through Community Benefit Agreements … to really put that in writing and make sure that we have a documented roadmap forward.

LoCO: Before we talk more about Community Benefits Agreements, I’d like to talk a little bit about sustainability. Environmental advocacy groups have called upon Crowley and the Harbor District to implement a green port strategy. Can you speak to that as well?

Monier: Certainly. Our primary focus is developing the most technologically advanced and greenest port in conjunction with the Harbor District. As such, we’re collaborating with other port facilities, including Long Beach, to be sure we’re all sharing, learning and leveraging the latest technologies. It would be illogical to build a port to support the energy transition to wind technology that doesn’t represent those ideals. In fact, one thing I’m really excited about is that we recently adopted the Institute for Sustainable Infrastructure’s Envision Sustainability certification. … Implementing that on this port means it will be one of the first on the West Coast to have that sustainability certification. 

Karl: Driving sustainability and really doing our part to help fuel and leverage this energy transition is a top priority for [Crowley]. We’ve spent a lot of time on our sustainability report that we published this year. That will help guide the steps we will take for port development. … It takes time to develop the technologies and it takes time to implement them – especially in existing ports. What is so exciting about Humboldt and some of the other reports that folks are going to develop up and down the West Coast is you’re starting from a clean sheet of paper. You can leverage the technologies that exist, which is why that collaboration between the ports up and down the West Coast is so important. We can all really learn together and put our best foot forward to really try to do what’s best for the planet and move this energy transition forward.

LoCO: What are some of the specific challenges you see in building out the Port of Humboldt Bay? And what are some of the perks?

Monier: During these initial stages we’re really trying to understand what the energy demand is going to be. … The current infrastructure in place on the peninsula, what does that look like? What equipment are we going to need? What is available in electric form? What is not? What does that look like down the road? One of the key things we also look at is how to design this [port terminal] to project future electrification. For example, putting conduits in place as equipment becomes available in electric format in the future. That way we’re not having to dig up the terminal 10 years from now.

Karl: There are so many exciting new technologies that are being developed. There’s green hydrogen, ammonia and methanol – all of these, these new, futuristic fuels. As they develop and become more readily available, we want to make sure that we’re not just building a terminal or a wind port that has the ability to use the technology that exists today. We really want a future-proof it so, as technology develops, we can implement those things where it makes sense and continue to make this a world-class port.

LoCO:  Turning back to the Community Benefits Agreements aspect of all of this, I’m fairly savvy with how the process works and how these agreements are created as it relates to offshore wind developers and the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). What does that process look like with Crowley and who would be included?

Karl: We have already begun discussions within the community and the tribal nations … about what concerns them and how to address it. To me, the Community Benefits Agreement will be developed in a way [that] really respects and benefits all members [of the community] and addresses the historical issues that have occurred in the past due to projects [and] different industries coming in and out [of the region]. That is a key component to make sure that we learn from the past so that we can have a more productive and safer future for the folks who live in the community. We’re all focused on specifically addressing the MMIP concerns. … I really appreciate what the Yurok Tribal Court did [by] publish[ing] this roadmap, these 10 steps on how to really start to think about MMIP around big projects like this. … What we really want to do is use that [document] as our starting point. 

As we build out our Community Benefits Agreement, it is also paramount … to talk about workforce development and the workforce. For me, it’s extremely important that that process is inclusive and open to everybody. … We want to make sure that we’re looking at the skill sets that are going to be needed in three to five years. [We need to] start to put programs in place … to train folks that already live here. … That’s really the focus of a lot of the community benefits work that we’ve been talking about to date.

LoCO: One specific group we haven’t talked about during this conversation is the folks living out on the Samoa Peninsula. They’re going to be impacted by this heavy-lift marine terminal as much as anyone. I mean, that port is going to be right in their backyard. How could they potentially benefit from this project?

Monier: We’ve been meeting with folks on the peninsula, going to meetings to hear their concerns with the port development and we’ve also reached out to them to comment on the [Notice of Preparation of Draft Environmental Impact Report] process through the Harbor District for the CEQA documentation. But as you said, they are absolutely going to be one of the most impacted stakeholders because of where the terminal is going in. So, again, part of the Community Benefits Agreement is really understanding the needs and concerns there. 

In the mega grant application to fund the phase first phase of the terminal, there were some community benefits programs [added in] to allow for grant applications towards $6 million that people on the peninsula and other groups can apply to have access to. We’ll continue to look at that through grant applications and various other funding opportunities. 

It’s important to remember that this project is not a sprint, it’s a marathon. We’re taking our time to really, again, integrate and discuss with the people who will be impacted to make sure that we are investing with intention and purpose.

Karl: The only thing I’d add to that is it’s also extremely important that – because this is a new industry coming to the community – we find a way to coexist with current industries. I know there have been concerns raised with some of the different fishing industries and it is top of mind to make sure that we find strategies where both industries can coexist and thrive. It doesn’t help anybody if there’s one winner and somebody ends up losing. We want to find win-win situations where all industries can thrive. I think that we should be able to be very successful in that endeavor.

Monier: I would also add that stakeholder mapping is part of this initial stage. Even if a group was not mentioned by name, there are a lot of really impacted communities and stakeholders that we’re still mapping and meeting with. We want to be very inclusive with this process.

LoCO: Thank you. As you were talking I was thinking about a conversation I had with a few of the folks with Vineyard Offshore. We discussed community benefits and … they talked about working with East Coast fishing fleets to address some of their concerns. For example, they agreed to rearrange the entire turbine layout and space their turbines a full nautical mile to address their concerns. … Are there any specific examples you can point to that illustrate how Crowley has worked with other communities to address their concerns?

Karl: Particularly with port development, a lot of the discussion that we’ve been having with your community – as well as other communities where we’ve developed ports – revolves around how we look at the overall infrastructure of the city or the town that we’re coming into. How do we put strategies in place to make sure that that infrastructure is really bolstered to be able to deal with an influx of industry and an influx of new people? When I say that I think about things like the fire departments, police departments, and healthcare is always top of mind. How do you make sure that… you don’t stress the infrastructure to where it can’t keep up or can’t cope? Those are the types of things that we really start to think about when you get into the nuts and bolts of designing your terminal. How does that really apply to the surrounding infrastructure of the community that you’re working in?

Monier: As I mentioned, it’s a marathon, not a sprint. We don’t have all the answers today, but there will be tangible [solutions] moving forward. We are committed to working on those and really understanding the community’s needs, and tribal nations’ needs, as well as concerns around the workforce, terminal operations, fishing, traffic and how that’s gonna affect everybody. There are so many different things we’re looking at currently.

LoCO: Thank you both very much for your time today. Do either of you have any closing remarks about the port development project, Crowley’s partnership with the Harbor District, or anything else we’ve touched on during this interview?

Monier: I’d like to reiterate … that community and tribal safety is paramount to the success of this terminal. I’m looking forward to continuing to work with the Harbor District on the terminal development, to realize a sustainable net-zero emissions terminal, while engaging with the county, cities, tribal nations, and other stakeholders to really understand what current programs are in place that will benefit the community and what the future needs are so we can invest in a community benefits program with intention and purpose.

Again, we’re looking at the long game here. … The terminal’s going to be here for a while and we want to really look at it from all aspects and not just rush into commitments without thoroughly looking at impacts to all parties involved. I can also say again, as a community member, I’m really excited to be part of this development process and with Crowley in particular. Part of the reason I took the job is that I saw that [Crowley] really put[s] their money where their mouth is, in a sense. … They’re really invested in doing things the right way. …

Karl: Something that I want to make sure … that folks understand [is] that these plans, these roadmaps that we’re building, we will document those and we will put that in writing. It’s important for us to have a roadmap that really lays out how the community will work together with its partners to build out a wind terminal such as this. It is the most important part of making sure that we can build this terminal and interact in the community where everybody benefits, where folks can feel safe and know that their best interest is top of mind. To me, that’s the most important thing. I want this to be viewed as a positive for the community and for tribal nations. The last thing we would ever want is for somebody to feel that their safety, their well-being was being minimized … That is the number one priority for Crowley and it should be, quite frankly, for any company.

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