Crowley Carrying Second Shipment of Frozen Poultry to Cuba

(Jacksonville, Fla.; Jan. 9, 2002) – Crowley Liner Services ship Express departed Gulfport, Miss., last night for Cuba with another shipment of 500 tons of frozen poultry. The shipment, which is scheduled to be delivered Thursday, is the second to Cuba in less than a month for Crowley. The company made history Dec. 16 by delivering the first commercial cargo directly from the United States to Cuba, in nearly 40 years.

Global food distributor AJC International is supplying the poultry for Alimport, the Cuban agency involved with purchasing food products for Cuba. Alimport contracted with Crowley to transport containerized frozen poultry and dry food products from the United States to Cuba in late November.

Alimport, also known as Empresa Cubana Importadora de Alimentos, has purchased some $30 million worth of food from U.S. companies in hopes of providing relief for Cubans impacted by Hurricane Michelle, which caused widespread destruction as it passed over the island Nov. 4.

Early last year, Crowley became the first U.S. carrier to obtain a license from the Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) of the United States Department of the Treasury in Washington, D.C., to provide regularly scheduled common carrier services for licensed cargo from the United States to the Republic of Cuba.

Crowley began regularly scheduled common carrier service to Cuba in April. Although no direct vessel calls had been made prior to Dec. 16, Crowley has transported loads for customers to Mexico and then via third-party carriers to Cuba on Crowley bills of lading.

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.

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