After 64 years in business, the Malcolm family has decided to close Malcolm Marine to pursue retirement. This site serves as a tribute to the company and its legacy.
About
Malcolm Marine was founded by Captain Keith Malcolm and his wife, Barb. Malcolm Marine specialized in marine construction, towing, salvage, piling, dredging, docks, and icebreaking and had a reputation for quality work, honesty, and integrity. Malcolm Marine was a family-owned business and a proud member of the Great Lakes maritime community.
After 64 proud years serving the Great Lakes region, the Malcolm family made the difficult decision in early 2024 to close our business in order to pursue retirement. Thank you to all of our customers, employees, family, and friends for your unwavering support over the years. As we close this chapter, we look back with gratitude, cherishing the relationships and memories we’ve built together. Thank you for being a part of our journey.
History
Diving
Some of Keith’s first jobs were diving in the North Channel for small objects that were dropped. Keith was reknown for his ability to hold his breath and would make a small amount of money diving for people this way. This helped foster Keith’s love of the water and eventually led to the founding of Malcolm Marine.
Founded
Malcolm Marine was founded by Keith Malcolm as a marine construction, diving, and salvage operation in 1960. His first job was the recovery of a ships anchor in the St. Clair River. Early jobs included vessel inspections, wheel and or rudder repairs, and marine construction. As the equipment got larger the jobs did too, eventually spreading all over the Great Lakes.
Nordmeer Salvage job
After the Nordmeer ran aground and sank with nearly 1000 coils of valuable steel in Thunder Bay near Alpena, MI, Malcolm Marine was the only company to accept the particularly difficult job of salvaging the cargo during the winter. Despite calls that the job was impossible, Keith and his crew were able to recover all of the cargo, putting Malcolm Marine on the map as a capable and reliable marine contractor.
Tug Barbara Ann
During the summer of 1970 a new tug was acquired and sailed to the Lakes from the Panama Canal. This was the first large tug for the company. She was built in the canal and spent her whole life there up to that point. The Alhajuela was soon renamed after Keith’s wife, Barb. The Barbara Ann would go on to become reknowed as a capable tug across the Great Lakes region.
Tug Taboga
A second larger tug was added in the fall of 1971. The Tug Taboga also came from the Panama Canal. At 143 feet in length and 2400 HP she was indeed a big tug.
St. Clair Office
Malcolm Marine aquired their St. Clair, MI office location in 1972. Prior to this, the company was based out of a small home office in Marine City, MI.
Capt. Dave
1973 saw the addition of a second generation of Malcolms’ joining the business when Keith and Barb’s oldest son, David, joined the business full time upon graduation from high school. Dave quickly developed a talent for the tug end of the business and earned his captain’s license in short order.
Don
Dave’s younger brother, Don, soon followed in 1974, joining the company full-time. Don’s mechanical aptitude served the company well. He became an extremely capable tug engineer and also an excellent crane operator.
Tug Malcolm
With the sale of the Taboga in July 1976, Keith had his eye out for another large tug. That opportunity came along in 1978 with the sinking of the Allegheny. The company purchased the tug as is, where is and pumped her out and refit her as the Tug Malcolm.
Diane
1979 also saw the addition of another family member. Keith and Barb’s daughter, Diane, joined the company in June and quickly set about helping her mother in the office and learning what she could about the family business.
Tug Manitou
As a direct result of the Ice Jam of 84’ Malcolm Marine purchased a surplus ice breaking tug from the US Coast Guard. Over a period of 5 years she was rebuilt and repowered. With the doubling of her horsepower, and an ice breaking hull the Manitou would eventually gain a reputation to rival her sister tug, the Barbara Ann.
Keith Malcolm
2007 turned out to be a sad time for the Malcolm family. Keith was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in June and passed away on August 17th. Keith’s children would continue to manage the business in the same tradition as Keith and Barb.
50th Anniversary
2010 marked our 50th year in business and in August 2010 we held a party. Family, friends, past and present employees and their families joined us in celebrating this important milestone. Our only wish was that our dad could have been here. He would have loved sharing stories with everyone!
Cedarville Job
Malcolm Marine was contracted to dredge Les Cheneaux Islands Channel near Cedarville, MI. After moving nearly 60,000 cubic yards, this job ended up being the largest dredging operation in the company’s history.
60th Anniversary
In 2020 Malcolm Marine celebrated its 60th Anniversary. Thank you so much to everyone who came out to help us celebrate our 60th year in business. We were honored to have so many of our employees, family, friends, and customers joined us on such a special occasion.
Barb Malcolm
Together with her husband, Keith, they owned and operated Malcolm Marine for 37 years. The famous tugboat Barbara Ann was named after her. Barb and Keith took great pride in raising their 4 children and having a successful business together.
Sailing Off
After 64 years in business, the Malcolm family has decided to close the doors in pursuit of retirement. Malcolm Marine has been a staple of the Great Lakes marine industry for over half a century and gained a reputation for their hard work, integrity, and perseverance. So as we sail into the sunset and onto our next voyage, the Malcolm family would like to thank all of our customers, employees, family and friends for their support over the years.