New Crowley Containers Begin to Arrive in Jacksonville

(Jacksonville, Fla.; Jan. 14, 2003) – The first of 2,400 53-foot and 45-foot (102″ wide) high-cube container/chassis combinations ordered by Crowley Liner Services last year, have begun to arrive in Jacksonville. Yesterday dockworkers discharged 705 of the boxes with their top-of-the-line security features and new Crowley markings, and today many are already being put into service.

Five hundred and thirty seven 53-foot and 168, 45-foot containers were discharged yesterday. The rest of the new containers will arrive during the first quarter.

“Crowley’s willingness to reinvest in new equipment is a real plus for customers like us,” said Joe Carr, vice president and general manager of Microtek Medical, Inc. “These new containers offer high cubic capacities and sturdy, security-oriented design. We look forward to utilizing them to transport our products.”

The 1,400 new 45-foot (102″ wide) containers, each with 3,268 cubic feet of capacity, are being deployed in Crowley’s Latin America and Puerto Rico/Caribbean Ro/Ro services, which include the countries of Guatemala, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Costa Rica, Panama, the Dominican Republic, Puerto Rico, the Bahamas and Virgin Islands. Two hundred and fifty of the 45-foot containers are equipped with garment racks to accommodate hanging garments in the important apparel markets.

The 1,000 jumbo 53-foot (102″ wide) containers, which boast a capacity of 3,857 cubic feet, will be put into the Puerto Rico market, maximizing value for shippers of low density, high-cube cargo like furniture and department store merchandise.

For added security, the new containers were built with hardware that allows for an additional bolt-type seal to lock the door to the doorframe. In addition, heavy-duty plating and special round-headed huck bolts were used on the doors, making it especially difficult for anyone to gain illegal access.

Customers will also notice that the containers have new markings making them easier to identify as members of the Crowley fleet. The familiar red, blue and black logo remains on the front and back of each box, but on the sides the word Crowley has been affixed in large, white letters and the company website address has been added.

“We have invested additional money to enhance both the security and visibility of these containers to provide added value to our customers,” said Tom Crowley Jr., Chairman, President and CEO of Crowley Maritime Corporation. “We want our customers to be able to ship their cargo with confidence and with the knowledge that weve taken measures to ensure the integrity of their loads.”

These new units are replacing a similar number of 45-foot and 53-foot trailers. Like Crowley trailers, the new containers are 102 inches wide and afford customers the load protection that comes with their corrugated steel design.

Jindo Corporation manufactured all of the containers at its Shanghai, China, plant. Cheetah Chassis Corp. in Berwick, Pa., built 700 of the 45-foot chassis and Hyundai Translead in Tijuana, Mexico constructed 700 45-foot and 1,000 53-foot chassis.

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.

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