Offshore Tugs Corporation was founded in the 1950’s in St. Louis, Missouri on the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers as the Huffman Towing Company.
In an effort to diversify and expand the business, while remaining closely associated with Huffman Towing, Bob Leshe (now President of Offshore Tugs Corporation) left Huffman Towing in 1969 to form Inland River Transportation Corporation (IRTC).
IRTC, based in Pensacola, Florida provided contract offshore towing to markets serving the Gulf of Mexico, United States East Coast, Caribbean, South America, Pacific Central America and on occasion Africa. IRTC’s fleet expanded and contracted to meet the demands of the industry and at one time consisted of five 4,000 horsepower offshore tugs, ten offshore barges ranging in capacity from 2,000 tons to 4,000 tons dry and three 30,000 barrel tank barges.
In addition to three small inland push boats ranging in power from 600 horsepower to 1,200 horsepower to support their offshore businesses.
From 1969 thru 1986, other marine related ventures were developed and operated by IRTC. Stevedoring and terminal operations were based in Pensacola, Florida and Yabacoa, Puerto Rico, while shipyard and salvage operations were based in Orange, Texas.
In 1986 Inland River Transportation Corporation divested it's tank barge business to Marine Transport Lines and simultaneously acquired American Offshore, Incorporated. American Offshore, Incorporated provided four model bow tugs ranging in power from 2,400 horsepower to 5,000 horsepower to Tidewater Marine for the movement of Mobile Offshore Drilling Units for most of the major and independent oil companies in the Gulf of Mexico.
American Offshore Incorporated continued to support the oil field industry through 1999. However diverted a portion of its equipment in 1993 to begin ship docking as Ocean Towing Corporation from the Port of Fort Pierce, Florida until 2002. As a result of limited ship traffic OTC moved its operations to Pensacola, Florida and continues to this day to provide tug assistance to the Port of Pensacola and Naval Air Station Pensacola.
The company expanded our business again in June of 2008 to Key West, Florida. And again most recently to the Port Panama City, Florida.