TowBoatUS names new Reedville operation owner
For more than a decade, Capt. Chris Parker has been helping recreational boaters on the Chesapeake Bay get home, first as a hired captain and later a port manager of several TowBoatUS on-water towing ports in the Tidewater region. Wanting his own TowBoatUS on-water towing and assistance company, he journeyed east across the bay in 2019 to open TowBoatUS Crisfeld in Maryland. Now on the bay’s western shore, the captain is new owner of TowBoatUS Reedville, Virginia, essentially bookending both shores with his company’s TowBoatUS coverage.
When asked how he manages the challenge of owning two on-water assistance locations on either side of the bay, Parker said, “I’ve got really good crew who do their jobs extremely well.” All of the company’s captains are U.S. Coast Guard-licensed. Joining Parker is his wife, Katie, who handles 24/7 dispatch and business operations. “She’s a key part of my team,” he added.
TowBoatUS provides professional on-water towing, battery jumpstart, vessel ungrounding and fuel drop-off services. Parker’s company has five red TowBoatUS towboats from 20- to 27-feet that are part of a nationwide fleet of more than 600 red TowBoatUS response vessels.
TowBoatUS dispatchers received more than 90,000 requests for routine on-water assistance from boat owners last year. In the Tidewater, Parker says, “If your boat breaks down here, conditions, especially at the mouth of the Potomac, can get pretty rough,” he added. “We’ll get you home.”
Separate from TowBoatUS services, the locations offer salvage and environmental remediation services. Parker also continues to manage TowBoatUS ports in Upper Rappahannock and Gwynn’s Island.
