Crowley Adds Third Weekly Sailing
Crowley Liner Services announced
that beginning the week of March 17 it will launch a third, weekly,
fixed-day sailing from Gulfport, Miss. to serve Guatemala, Honduras,
Nicaragua and El Salvador in Central America.
With the addition of the Crowley Roll On / Roll Off (Ro/Ro) ship
Siam to the service, the company will now offer southbound sailings every
Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from Gulfport. The other Ro/Ro ships in the
service include the Crowley Express and Mar Caribe.
"Our business in the Gulf is growing and we wanted to be able to
respond to our customers' needs for frequent, dependable service in this
region," said Tom Crowley Jr., Chairman, President and CEO of Crowley
Maritime Corporation. "I think our apparel and perishables customers will
appreciate the added scheduling flexibility and frequency of service."
The addition of the Siam to the trade, along with the redeployment
of certain other vessels, will result in a 12.5 percent increase in
Crowley's overall weekly carrying capacity in each direction. Vessels depart
Gulfport and call Puerto Cortés, Honduras; Santo Tomás, Guatemala, and then
return to Gulfport. Overland service is provided to Managua, Nicaragua and
San Salvador, El Salvador via Puerto Cortés and Santo Tomás respectively.
Thursday's southbound sailing calls Havana, Cuba, and Puerto Cortés before
returning to Gulfport.
All of Crowley's Ro/Ro ships in the trade can accommodate the
company's full complement of equipment, including popular 45-foot (102"
wide) trailers and containers, 20- and 40-foot garment-on-hangar containers
on chassis, and 20-foot standard and 40-foot high-cube refrigerated
containers on chassis.
"We are constantly evaluating our customers' needs and developing
ways to better service them," said Rinus Schepen, Senior Vice President and
General Manager, Latin America Services. "While some of our competitors
have been retrenching, we have been investing in new equipment and expanding
our service offerings. This announcement today is one such example."
