Crowley Adds Third Weekly Sailing From the U.S. Gulf to the Northern Zone of Central America

2003-03-10

Crowley Liner Services announced today 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 Crowleys overall weekly carrying capacity in each direction. Vessels depart Gulfport and call Puerto Corts, Honduras; Santo Toms, Guatemala, and then return to Gulfport. Overland service is provided to Managua, Nicaragua and San Salvador, El Salvador via Puerto Corts and Santo Toms respectively. Thursdays southbound sailing calls Havana, Cuba, and Puerto Corts before returning to Gulfport.

All of Crowleys Ro/Ro ships in the trade can accommodate the companys 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.

Crowley Liner Services, headquartered in Jacksonville, Fla., is a subsidiary of Oakland-based Crowley Maritime Corporation and is part of its liner segment. The corporation, founded in 1892, 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.