Crowley Launches Costa Rica Express Service Between Florida and Puerto Lim

2002-04-18

(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.; April 18, 2002) To better serve apparel shippers and other customers shipping time-sensitive cargo, Crowley Liner Services has added weekly, fixed-day express service from Port Everglades, Fla. to Puerto Limn, Costa Rica.

Crowley Liner Services, a subsidiary of Crowley Maritime Corporation and part of its liner services segment, made the service enhancement to complement the companys existing weekly, fixed-day Ro/Ro (Roll On / Roll Off) service between Port Everglades and the Southern zone of Central America. Through the on-hire of a new ship, the Port Everglades Express, Crowley not only doubled its weekly sailings but also increased its available vessel capacity about 50 percent or approximately 80 FEUs (Forty-Foot Equivalent Units) per week in the trade.

The Port Everglades Express departs Port Everglades every Saturday, arrives in Puerto Limn every Wednesday and returns to Port Everglades every Saturday. Overland service is provided to Managua, Nicaragua with cargo arrival every Thursday.

We are offering the fastest transit times in the trade with convenient end-of-the-week sailing days for manufacturers, said Rinus Schepen, Crowley Senior Vice President and General Manager, Latin America. A number of our large apparel customers have expressed interest in this service enhancement so we expect it to be well received.

Like Crowleys other Ro/Ro vessels in its Central America services, the Port Everglades Express can accommodate Crowleys full complement of equipment, including popular 45-foot (102 wide) trailers, 20- and 40-foot garment-on-hangar containers on chassis, and 20-foot standard and 40-foot high-cube refrigerated containers on chassis.

As for future service offerings in the Central America trade, Schepen said, We continue to monitor market conditions and will not hesitate to introduce new services or product enhancements when there is sufficient need.

Crowley Liner Services, headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., is a subsidiary of Oakland-based Crowley Maritime Corporation, founded in 1892. The corporation is primarily family- and employee-owned, and is engaged in worldwide logistics, liner services, contract towing and transportation, energy support services, ship assist and escort services, vessel management and petroleum and chemical marine transport. Additional information about Crowley its subsidiaries and business units may be found on the Internet at www.crowley.com