Crowley Now Offering a Faster, Direct Sailing to St. Maarten from South Florida
Surrounding Caribbean Islands to also Benefit from More Timely Service
(FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla.; March 28, 2011) – To better serve customers shipping from South Fla. to the Caribbean islands, Crowley Maritime Corp. has enhanced its liner container shipping services by adding a direct, fixed-day sailing from Port Everglades, Fla., to St. Maarten in the Caribbean.
This new direct offering improves Crowley’s already efficient service by reducing the time it takes to ship to St. Maarten from South Fla. by one full day. Additionally, cargo is now scheduled to arrive on Sundays, an advantage that makes Crowley one of the first carriers in St. Maarten each week and allows stores to be stocked before the week begins – particularly with perishable cargo such as fresh produce.
Likewise the new schedule will allow for earlier delivery of shipments via feeder vessels to surrounding islands in the Caribbean, including Antigua, St. Kitts/Nevis, Anguilla, St. Eustatius, St. Barth’s, Montserrat and Saba. With the new service, cargo is scheduled to arrive earlier on Mondays, instead of later in the day, or on Tuesdays, as was previously the case.
“We pride ourselves in bringing customers the most comprehensive vessel service throughout the Caribbean. This expansion is another example of our commitment to the region and will help to meet the needs of customers who require a fast and reliable shipping service to St. Maarten and the surrounding islands,” said Matt Jackson, vice president, Caribbean services.
Crowley will use a Lift-on/Lift-off (Lo/Lo) container ship, the Stadt Hannover, for the new sailing, offering customers the opportunity to access a wide variety of equipment, such as flat-rack containers for oversized cargo, open-top containers, and 20′ and 40′ refrigerated high-cube and dry containers.
“Our customers appreciate the fact that we offer modern, well-maintained equipment to help ensure reliability and efficiency,” said Jackson.
“This Lo/Lo service is well suited for almost any kind of shipment to the islands, including foodstuffs, grocery and building products, project and related non-containerized cargoes,” said Jackson. “We look forward to serving customers with this new direct call – and have received a favorable response from many of our business partners located in St. Maarten and the surrounding islands that will benefit from the new service.”
The new schedule calls for the Stadt Hannover to depart Port Everglades on Wednesday evenings for a Sunday morning arrival in St. Maarten. On Sunday evenings, feeder vessels leave St. Maarten for Monday arrivals in Antigua, St. Kitts/Nevis, Anguilla, St. Eustatius, St. Barth’s, Montserrat and Saba. The vessel returns to Port Everglades on Wednesday mornings and the rotation begins again that evening.
Jacksonville-based Crowley Holdings Inc., a holding company of the 119-year-old Crowley Maritime Corporation, is a privately held family and employee-owned company. The company provides marine solutions, transportation and logistics services in domestic and international markets by means of six operating lines of business: Puerto Rico/Caribbean Liner Services, Latin America Liner Services, Logistics Services, Petroleum Services, Marine Services and Technical Services. Offered within these operating lines of business are: liner container and break-bulk shipping; logistics; contract towing and transportation; harbor ship assist and tanker escort; energy support; salvage and emergency response through its TITAN Salvage subsidiary; vessel management; vessel construction and naval architecture through its Jensen Maritime subsidiary; government services, and petroleum and chemical transportation, distribution and sales. Additional information about Crowley, its subsidiaries and business units may be found on the Internet at www.crowley.com.
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