In 1984, only 4 years after purchasing his first tug – THE RESOLVE, Joe Farrell Jr. formally opened Resolve Towing & Salvage developing into a global leader in Emergency Response, Wreck Removal, Marine Services, Regulatory Compliance, and Maritime Training. Growing from a one-tug operation, Resolve’s capabilities expanded as teams oversaw jobs in the Caribbean working on small freighters and island vessels to larger, high-profile response projects. Following the 1989 EXXON VALDEZ oil spill in Alaska, the U.S. Coast Guard established regulations for OPA-90 and, at the time, Farrell, realized he needed to offer services that met those regulations if he wanted to remain in business.
In order to comply with OPA-90 rules, Resolve needed the expertise and capabilities to fight tank vessel fires – in short, it needed a firefighting team and, as it turned out, the only way to establish one was to build a training facility. Resolve soon became the only salvage company with an in-house firefighting team of experts, who also served as professional instructors.
While Farrell realized the OPA-90 model had worldwide ramifications, he first dedicated his resources to the North American market. RESOLVE was the only SMFF provider at the time with a focus on offering the best services in the United States. Farrell’s dedication to refine the OPA-90 emergency response model domestically paid off as Resolve now maintains a strong network of 23 depots nationwide, stocked with company-owned equipment around the clock.
Once Resolve established its U.S. capabilities, Farrell applied the OPA-90 emergency response model worldwide. The company now has offices and response bases in the United Kingdom, Gibraltar, Singapore, India, China, and South Africa.
