Carrier profile · USDOT 621518 · MC-538588 · Updated Jun 13, 2026

TIDEWATER EXPRESS INC

38 power unitsLocal · 2 statesHAMPTON, VA94/100

CARRIER ACTIVEMC-538588 ACTIVERATED SATISFACTORY

Observed fleet · trailing 24 mo daily

38Power units

4 observed · MCS-150

3Trailers seen

Decoded · vPIC

6.8Avg age (yr)

2003–2024 · vPIC

Call dispatch(757) 723-1214 Email dispatchHR@TIDEWATEREXPRESSINC.COM

Click to see how we scored it

Load decision · FMCSA snapshot · Jun 13, 2026

Clear to load

Active authority and a clean federal record. No blocking issues found.

Active operating authorityInsurance on fileMultiple injury crashes

Watch · 1

Multiple injury crashes11 crashes involving injuries are on record.

In good standing · 4

Active operating authorityActive for-hire authority is on file with FMCSA.Insurance on fileBIPD (liability) insurance is on file with FMCSA.Established 31 yearsOperating authority has been on file since 1995.Out-of-service rates below national averageBoth vehicle and driver OOS rates beat the national benchmark across 10 inspections.

USDOT registration

yr registered

Active for-hire

Insurance (BIPD)$1M in force

FMCSA L&I

Vehicle OOS · 24-mo0.0%

▼ 22.26% nat'l

Crashes · fatal

5 in 24 mo

USDOT registration

yr registered

Active for-hire

Insurance (BIPD)$1M in force

FMCSA L&I

Vehicle OOS · 24-mo0.0%

▼ 22.26% nat'l

Crashes · fatal

5 in 24 mo

Vektor intelligence · beyond the federal recordProprietary signals computed from VIN-decoded inspections & daily FMCSA snapshots

Fleet typeIdentity

Asset-based

38 power units. Brokers price each fleet type apart.

Fleet age vs peersDecoding

—

Not yet decoded

Identity stabilityStable

30 yr unchanged

Same registration since 1995 — no chameleon / reincarnation signal.

Safety

5 inspections · 24 mo · vs national benchmarks

Out-of-service rate· 24-mo cumulative · vs national

Vehicle OOS 0.0%24-mo cumulative

050%nat'l 22.26%

Driver OOS 0.0%24-mo cumulative

030%nat'l 6.67%

Every inspection in the window pooled — 3 vehicle and 5 driver inspections over 24 months.

Vehicle OOS rate· vehicle OOS · vehicle-level inspections · 6-month trailing

0.0% · latest 6-mo window

Share of vehicle-level roadside inspections in each trailing six-month window that resulted in a vehicle out-of-service order. More resolved windows are needed to establish a trend. The national vehicle benchmark uses the same metric and is shown on the chart.

Roadside inspection history· 24 charted calendar months · vehicle / driver level · any-OOS overlay

5 inspections in the charted months · busiest month Nov '24 · 1

Vehicle-levelDriver-levelAny OOS

Monthly FMCSA roadside inspections across the 24 charted calendar months. Bars show level-qualified vehicle and driver populations; one inspection can qualify for both. The line shows inspections with any out-of-service result.

Inspection coverage· expected vs observed · the fraud signal

Inspection coverage

How heavily FMCSA inspects this fleet for its size — it tells you how much to trust the safety signals above. Thin coverage on a young authority is a fraud signal nobody else surfaces.

Thin coverage

Under-inspected

Expected

Well-monitored

Heavily inspected

≈0.1 / unit·yr

thin signalabundant signal

Few roadside inspections for a 38-unit fleet — the out-of-service and violation signals above rest on a small sample, so weight them cautiously. Thin coverage on a young authority is itself a flag.

Registered power units: 38
Inspections · 24 mo: 5
Annualized: ≈3 / yr
Coverage: ≈0.1 inspections / unit · yr

Violation themes· decoded · grouped by BASIC

What this carrier actually gets cited for — FMCSA violation codes decoded into plain English, ranked by frequency.

392.2 State/local traffic law violation (speeding, etc.)Unsafe Driving2 · 0 OOS
393.95 Emergency equipment (extinguisher, triangles)Vehicle Maintenance2 · 0 OOS
393.60 Windshield / glazingVehicle Maintenance1 · 0 OOS
396.17 Periodic (annual) inspectionVehicle Maintenance1 · 0 OOS

Explore full safety record — inspections, BASICs, crashes

Authority & insurance

Can they legally + adequately haul your load?

Operating authority· 49 CFR · per type

Operating authority

Common: Active
Contract: None
Broker: None

Insurance & bonds

BIPD / liability$1,000,000 in force

Cargo filing (census)Recorded per census

Surety bond (census)Not recorded per census

Insurance adequacy· filed BIPD vs the $750K federal floor

$1M in forcegeneral-freight federal minimum

$750K floor

Filed BIPD coverage of $1M meets or exceeds the $750K federal minimum for general freight (49 CFR 387.9). Some commodities (hazmat, larger vehicles) require $1M–$5M — confirm against your load.

Insurance continuity· insurer · policy · lapses

$750K BIPD last filed ’24 · 4 insurers · 0 lapsesInsurer churn

Peninsula’04–’08

Peninsula’09–’16

Building Industry’16–’22

Donegal’22–now

2004201020162022now

Shorter eras are too brief to label at this scale — all 7 insurers are named in the list below.

BIPD in force — $1,000,000 · DONEGAL MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY · since Dec 2023

All 7 insurer eras · dates, limits, renewals

Insurer	Period	Limit	Renewals
DONEGAL MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY	Dec 2022 → Jul 2024	$750K	1
BUILDING INDUSTRY INSURANCE ASSOCIATION INC	Dec 2022 → Dec 2022	$750K	1
DONEGAL MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY	Dec 2022 → Dec 2023	$750K	1
BUILDING INDUSTRY INSURANCE ASSOCIATION INC	Dec 2016 → Dec 2022	$750K	6
THE PENINSULA INSURANCE COMPANY	Nov 2009 → Dec 2016	$750K	1
UNIVERSAL UNDERWRITERS INSURANCE CO.	Nov 2008 → Nov 2009	$750K	1
THE PENINSULA INSURANCE COMPANY	Nov 2004 → Nov 2008	$750K	3

Explore full authority & insurance record

Equipment & fleet

VIN-decoded · NHTSA vPIC

Capacity· power units = haulable capacity; trailers are towed

Registered power units (MCS-150): 38
Observed power (24 mo): 4
Trailers (towed): 3

Capacity is power units only — trailers are towed equipment and are never summed into a fleet-size figure.

Explore full fleet — VIN roster, equipment mix, age distribution

Operations & lanes

Revealed by inspection density across 2 states · 24 mo

Operating footprint· revealed by roadside-inspection geography

Operating radiusLocal

revealed

States observed

US states

Inspections · 24 mo

VA busiest

Inspection density by state· each tile = a state · shade = inspections, last 24 mo

Home base

HAMPTON, VA

1749 W PEMBROKE AVE

Top corridor

VA 3 · NC 2

Density

fewermore

Shade = roadside inspections, last 24 mo.

See the full operating map — state density, top lanes

Network & fraud

Affiliated entities & reincarnation signals · for review, not a verdict

Shares a company officer with other carriers

john pelfrey — 2 carriers: USDOT 4003697

Capacity consistency· registered vs roadside-observed power units

Registered (MCS-150)

Observed (24 mo)

Registered capacity materially exceeds what is observed roadside — the MCS-150 may be stale or the fleet under-utilized.

Explore the carrier network & VIN cross-links

Identity & contact

FMCSA census + L&I dossier

Location

Physical address: 1749 W PEMBROKE AVE, HAMPTON, VA, 23661
Operation: Interstate

Contact

Phone: (757) 723-1214
Cell: (757) 503-5143
Fax: (757) 723-3784
Email: hr@tidewaterexpressinc.com
Web domain: tidewaterexpressinc.com

Registration

Officer: John Pelfrey
USDOT / docket: 621518 · MC-538588
First registered: Nov 21, 1995
Last MCS-150: Jul 29, 2025 · 650,000 mi (2024)
FMCSA safety rating: Satisfactory · Jul 25, 2007
D-U-N-S: —

Fleet (self-reported · MCS-150)

Power units

Drivers

CDL drivers

650,000

Annual mileage

Open the full identity & federal record

Federal activity

Daily-captured FMCSA licensing & insurance changes — monitored by Vektor

Federal record activity· monitored daily by Vektor

No licensing or insurance changes captured since Vektor began monitoring this carrier (June 2026). Quiet is usually good.

Open the full federal-record activity feed

Reviews

Verified broker, shipper & driver reviews — moderated

Performance ratings only — never the Vektor risk score

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Verification summaryAuthority, insurance, safety and identity facts for TIDEWATER EXPRESS INC.

TIDEWATER EXPRESS INC (USDOT 621518) has a Vektor safety score of 94/100 and a Clear to load verdict, from the carrier's FMCSA record refreshed Jun 13, 2026.

The carrier holds active common for-hire operating authority per FMCSA L&I as of Jun 13, 2026.

It has an active BIPD insurance filing with a $1,000,000 limit in force from DONEGAL MUTUAL INSURANCE COMPANY effective Dec 31, 2023 in FMCSA L&I's current snapshot as of Jun 13, 2026.

Its vehicle out-of-service rate was 0.0% over the last 24 months, versus the 22.26% CVSA national average, from FMCSA roadside-inspection data refreshed Jun 13, 2026.

The carrier received 5 roadside inspections in the last 24 months — 3 vehicle-level and 5 driver-level — across 2 states, according to FMCSA roadside-inspection data refreshed Jun 13, 2026.

The carrier has 5 reportable crashes in the last 24 months and 0 fatal crashes across the full FMCSA crash record available as of Jun 13, 2026.

It reports 38 power units and 64 drivers in its most recent MCS-150 filing dated Jul 29, 2025.

It has an FMCSA safety rating of Satisfactory assigned Jul 25, 2007 in the federal record refreshed Jun 13, 2026.

Frequently asked

What is TIDEWATER EXPRESS INC's USDOT number?

TIDEWATER EXPRESS INC's USDOT number is 621518, and its motor carrier number is MC-538588.

Is TIDEWATER EXPRESS INC authorized to operate?

As of Jun 13, 2026, TIDEWATER EXPRESS INC is active in the FMCSA register with common, contract, broker operating authority on file.

What is TIDEWATER EXPRESS INC's safety record?

TIDEWATER EXPRESS INC has a 0.0% vehicle out-of-service rate (national average 22.26%) across 10 roadside inspections, with 5 reportable crashes in the last 24 months, and an FMCSA "Satisfactory" safety rating. Vektor's computed risk score is 94/100 (tier: clear).