Bellaire Harbor Service Celebrates Two Decades of Growth

Built on a love for family and the river, Bellaire Harbor Service has grown steadily over the past 20 years.

Capt. Bob Harrison took over the business at Bellaire, Ohio, (Ohio River Mile 92) on October 1, 2005. He bought the business with his late wife, Julia. Their first employee was Julia’s sister, Michele Lay. At that time, the service had five boats, a marine ways and a couple of cranes, Harrison said.

Now with 19 boats, two drydocks and 10 material handlers of various sizes, the company has grown into a large harbor fleeting, barge repair and linehaul business on the upper Ohio.

While the main fleet is still located at Bellaire, the company now also has fleets at Follansbee, W.Va., and St. Marys, W.Va. It unloads cargoes at seven different locations, with frac sand, steel products, limestone, gravel, talc, baryte, gypsum and even scrap barges of pig iron all among the products handled. Harrison said the company now services all the major barge lines, as well.

Bob’s brother, Capt. Ron Harrison, works for Bellaire as port captain. Together, they comprise the fourth generation of their family working on the river. Their great grandfather, Llewellyn “Babe” Harrison, worked at a shipyard on Eastern Avenue in Cincinnati, where he helped build packet boats, including the Queen City. Their grandfather, George Harrison Sr., had a boat harbor and bought the steamer Chris Greene in 1950. Bob and Ron’s father, George Jr., later sold pleasure boats and also loaded barges.

“I grew up around the boat harbor and always wanted to be on the towboats,” Harrison said.

The first boat he climbed aboard was the twin-screw, 350 hp. mv. Hawk, owned by Tucker Marine and later renamed the Aly Savannah. Five years ago, he had a chance to buy that vessel to use as a harbor boat, so he did.

“That’s the one that started it all,” he said.

Harrison also vividly recalls getting on the mv. Clara Beatty, a towboat owned by John Beatty, when he was in seventh grade. He also recalled helping with work for his grandpa’s harbor.

“That was the end of it,” Harrison said. “That’s where I wanted to be.”

Harrison went to work for Carlisle Construction between his junior and senior years of high school and then took over his dad’s boat harbor after he passed away. He later owned his own company, Harrison Inc., which unloaded barges and operated fleeting services at Silver Grove, Ky., before having an opportunity to sell it to Maxim Crane. He managed that company’s river division for five years.

Bellaire Harbor Service has expanded its services in accordance with customer needs, carefully assessing opportunities and focusing on controlled growth. That’s how the company got into barge unloading and also specifically into handling frac sand, Harrison said.

The company now has two 974 Liebherrs, two 870 Sennebogens, a 600 Komatsu and five or six 954s, Harrison said. The company has unloaded more than 2 million tons of cargo this year, Harrison said.

Along the way, Bellaire has also expanded its payroll from 30 employees up to about 140.

Recently, the company bought the mv. Samuel J, a twin-screw, 4,000 hp. towboat, from Florida Marina. The 120- by 35-foot boat was built in 1977. Harrison is also in the process of buying another boat, which will further expand the company’s capabilities.

While always keeping an eye on his customers’ ever-evolving needs, Harrison is also interested in preserving river history. He owns two vintage paddlewheel towboats, both of which recently took part in the America’s River Roots Festival in Cincinnati. The Standard is 102 years old. The Sewickley, at 95 years old, was previously named the Reed Lee and was owned by Nelson Jones. The Sewickley was tapped to lead the opening parade of the festival and was on display throughout, with visitors invited to climb aboard and take a look.

Harrison also has the roof bell off the steamer Chris Greene, his grandfather’s boat, and has an extensive collection of steamboat whistles.

His son, George Joseph Harrison, rode down to Cincinnati with his father on the Sewickley, which towed the Standard. At 21, George also has his eye on the river. So far, he has been involved mostly in transporting crews and cleaning barges.

“He’s starting at the bottom and working his way up,” Harrison said.

George already has a boat named after him, the mv. George J. Harrison.

With the fifth generation of Harrison men now exploring his own passion for the river, it appears Bellaire Harbor Service has even more opportunity for growth in the decades ahead.

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Featured photo caption: Bob Harrison, president of Bellaire Harbor Service, and his son, George Joseph Harrison, aboard the vintage paddlewheel towboat the Sewickley. Bellaire Harbor Service is celebrating its 20th anniversary this month. (Photo courtesy of Bellaire Harbor Service)