Crowley Announces Enhancements to its U.S. East Coast – Mexico Service

1999-06-07

(JACKSONVILLE, FL; June 7, 1999) To better serve shippers moving products between the U.S. and Mexico, Crowley American Transport announced today that it plans to begin serving Mexico southbound nonstop from Jacksonville and will make Port Everglades the first port of call northbound from Progreso beginning in mid-June.

Crowleys present vessel rotation has Jacksonville as the first northbound and southbound port of call in the service, followed by port calls in Port Everglades, Progreso, Tampico, Veracruz and Progreso before vessels return to Jacksonville. With the service enhancement, vessels will go directly from Jacksonville to Progreso, then call in Tampico, Veracruz, and Progreso before heading northbound to Port Everglades and then back to Jacksonville.

This new approach to our weekly, fixed-day service will benefit our customers who are presently shipping significant amounts of cargo northbound into South Florida and equally heavy cargo volumes southbound into Mexico from Jacksonville, said Rinus Schepen, Crowley Vice President and General Manager, Central America and Mexico Services. The schedule will now reflect the dynamics of the cargo flow in the trade.

In addition, we will be able to provide faster transit times from Mexico to Port Everglades, permitting us to get into the South Florida market quicker for refrigerated cargo, wearing apparel and other dry cargoes, he said. Vessels departing Fridays in Progreso will be in Port Everglades on Mondays.

Likewise, we will realize transit time improvement southbound, with vessels departing Jacksonville early Wednesday mornings and arriving Saturday mornings in Progreso, Schepen said.

Crowley serves the trade with two geared container ships, the M/V Sea Opal and M/V Sea Jade. Each has a capacity of 519 TEUs. The company also provides liner service between the U.S. Gulf and Mexico.

Headquartered in Jacksonville, Florida, Crowley American Transport provides cargo common carrier services between Canada, the United States and countries in Central America, South America and the Caribbean. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Oakland-based Crowley Maritime Corp., founded in 1892.