Crowley Maritime Corp.’s liner services group will add sailings between New Jersey and Puerto Rico this summer in response to customer demand for more shipping services in the Northeast.
The new service will provide Jones Act shipping services between Pennsauken, New Jersey and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Crowley currently provides Jones Act service to Puerto Rico from Jacksonville, Florida.
“With our accelerated sailing schedule, we have determined that we can add a sailing each month between Pennsauken and San Juan,” said John Hourihan, Crowley senior vice president and general manager, Puerto Rico services. “We’ve been working diligently since last December to add capacity and tweak our vessel rotations and operations to accommodate as much cargo as possible. This enhancement will surely benefit our customers in the Northeast who have been adjusting to capacity issues caused by the departure of Horizon Lines from the market.”
Horizon Lines terminated its liner service between the U.S. mainland and Puerto Rico towards the end of 2014 due to continuing losses without the prospect of future profitability.
Crowley says that its 580-series, triple-deck Ro/Ro barge capable of carrying 345 loads will alternate between the South Atlantic and North Atlantic services, and generate one southbound and one northbound sailing each month between Pennsauken and San Juan. Even with this change, all Crowley vessels operating on an accelerated schedule will be able to continue to provide four sailings per week between Jacksonville, Florida, and San Juan, Crowley says.
Since mid-December, Crowley has created additional weekly cargo carrying capacity, including the addition of a new flat-deck barge capable of carrying up to 400 additional loads between Jacksonville and Puerto Rico. Crowley has also ordered and begun placing into service more than 7,000 pieces of new cargo handling equipment, including 40-foot, 45-foot and 48-foot high cube containers, 20-foot ISO tanks and a variety of fixed and slider chassis.
Crowley has served the Puerto Rico market since 1954 and currently has about 200 Puerto Rico employees. The company is also the No. 1 ocean carrier between Puerto Rico and the U.S. mainland with more weekly sailings and more cargo carried annually than any other shipping line.