Crowley Suspends Liner Shipping Operations in the U.S. Gulf Gulf

Published Sep 1, 2005 12:01 AM by The Maritime Executive

Crowley announced today that its Gulfport, Miss., port facilities and New Orleans office have been closed until further notice due to damage from Hurricane Katrina.

All sailings, including the company's thrice-weekly liner shipping service between the U.S. Gulf and Puerto Cortes, Honduras and Santo Tomas, Guatemala, will be handled over Port Everglades, Fla., for the foreseeable future.

"We have developed a sailing schedule that will include port calls in Port Everglades for those shipments that traditionally utilize Gulfport," said John Hourihan, senior vice president and general manager, Latin America. "In the near term, we plan to sail to Santo Tomas and Puerto Cortez from Port Everglades tomorrow, Saturday, Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, and next Thursday. This schedule and future schedules will be updated regularly on our web site at http://www.crowley.com and we encourage customers to check it regularly, not only for sailing information, but for other service announcements as well."

Crowley is attempting to verify the safety and well being of all of its employees in the Gulf, as well as assess their needs. Damage to facilities in Gulfport and Crowley equipment appears to be extensive based on national news reports. Crowley personnel are en route to the area and will survey the situation as soon as it is safe and practical to do so.

Apparel shippers should continue to make their bookings through the company's apparel desk in Miami at 1-800-835-2807.

All other customers can reach Crowley's booking and customer service
departments by calling 1-800-CROWLEY.

Customers who believe they may have been affected by the hurricane should immediately notify their cargo underwriters. If any information is needed from Crowley, customers may contact Berry Landers or Dwight Menard at 800-874-6769 or 904-727-2229.

Oakland-based Crowley Maritime Corporation, founded in 1892, is primarily a family and employee-owned company that provides diversified transportation and logistics services in domestic and international markets by means of three operating lines of business: Liner Services; Petroleum Services and Marine Services. Other services provided within these business lines include logistics; contract towing and transportation; ship assist and escort; energy support; salvage and emergency response; vessel management, and petroleum and chemical transportation, distribution and sales. Additional information about Crowley its subsidiaries and business units may be found on the Internet at http://www.crowley.com.