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Crowley Cargo Lightering Operation Successful Today in Port-au-Prince |
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Saturday, 23 January 2010 03:36 |
Crowley Cargo Lightering Operation Successful Today in Port-au-Prince Clears way for container shipments directly to the damaged port next week.
Barges and cranes being mobilized for temporary docking and cargo ops in the port.
(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.; Jan. 22, 2010) Crowley Maritime Corporation, working under contract with the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), successfully discharged 12 20-foot containers of relief supplies across a beach in Port-au-Prince, Haiti today in an experimental lightering operation. The success of this operation, which involved lifting the containers from a Crowley container ship anchored in the harbor to a smaller, shallow-draft landing vessel for transport and discharge over the beach, paves the way for container shipments directly into Port-au-Prince next week.
"Today's operation was an important milestone in reestablishing direct container shipments into the heavily damaged port," said John Hourihan, Crowley's senior vice president and general manager of Latin America services. "The port survey conducted Monday by a team from our TITAN Salvage subsidiary was spot on in terms of identifying a suitable location in the port where we could safely discharge the cargo."
"USTRANSCOM values the innovative solutions that our contractors are implementing to rapidly facilitate humanitarian assistance in support of the Haitian people," said Army Brig. Gen. Michael Lally, director of operations for the command.
The Crowley container ship Marcajama, which offloaded the containers today, is scheduled to return to Port Everglades, Fla. over the weekend and load more relief cargo under contract with USTRANSCOM. The ship will then return to Port-au-Prince in the middle of next week and discharge containers via the proven lightering method utilizing two shuttle vessels.
Future cargo operations in the port should improve substantially in the coming weeks. Crowley is mobilizing two 400-foot-long, 100-foot-wide flat deck barges, along with two Manitowoc 230-ton crawler cranes in the United States for USTRANSCOM that will be brought into Port-au-Prince to serve as a makeshift dock for future cargo operations. The first barge and crane in Orange, Texas should arrive in Haiti on or about Feb. 4. The second deck barge is being outfitted in Lake Charles, La. and will arrive by mid-Feb.
"The diverse resources of the Crowley organization are being brought to the table in response to this emergency," Hourihan said. "We are working closely with USTRANSCOM, USAID, FEMA and other organizations to provide the assets, services and technical expertise they need to accomplish their missions."
Relief cargoes are being consolidated and stuffed into containers at Crowley's Miami warehouse and distribution center. Containers delivered by Crowley in Rio Haina, Dominican Republic this week are being trucked over the border into Haiti. And more shipments - 179 20-foot containers and 11 40-foot containers for USTRANSCOM - are due in Rio Haina Sunday morning.
"The combination of direct shipments into Port-au-Prince and shipments into Rio Haina that are then trucked over the border is now resulting in a steady flow of aid," said Hourihan.
While Crowley has suspended its regularly scheduled commercial cargo services to and from Haiti, a Crowley customer service group has been formed to answer questions and assist the shipping public interested in getting relief goods into Haiti. All inquiries should be made to 1-800-490-3321, or
This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it
. Due to the unstable situation in the country, no relief cargo bookings will be accepted without being qualified by this Haiti Team customer service group.
"We believe our two methods of delivery into Port-au-Prince (lightering containers offshore and over-the-road trucking via Rio Haina) will soon allow Crowley to start accepting relief cargoes from non-government parties," said Tucker Gilliam, Crowley's general manager for Haiti and the Dominican Republic. "We continue to offer twice weekly service to and from the Dominican Republic for regular commercial cargoes.
Those wishing to contribute humanitarian supplies to Haiti's relief effort should do so by contacting non-profit organizations such as Food for the Poor or Catholic Relief Services.
Jacksonville-based Crowley Holdings Inc., a holding company of the 118-year-old Crowley Maritime Corporation, is a privately held family and employee-owned company. The company provides diversified 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 the following services: liner container shipping, logistics, contract towing and transportation; ship assist and 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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Crowley Establishing Flow of Relief Cargo into Haiti |
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Wednesday, 20 January 2010 21:22 |
Planning for Future Shipments Directly into Port-au-Prince
(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.; Jan. 20, 2010) Crowley Maritime Corporation, working under contract with the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), is unloading Haiti relief cargo in Rio Haina, Dominican Republic today. Fifty six of the 68 20-foot containers of water and meals-ready-to-eat (MREs) will be trucked across the border into Haiti.
The remaining 12 loads aboard the container ship Macajama will be transported by water to Port-au-Prince, Haiti and be offloaded in an experimental lightering operation and delivered across a beach on Friday. If successful, future shipments could be made directly to Port-au-Prince.
The Crowley plan calls for the Macajama to anchor offshore near the port's damaged south pier and near the exposed beach. Using a shipboard crane on the Macajama, the 12 remaining containers would be lowered onto a smaller vessel operated by G and G Shipping and delivered across the beach on wheels.
A team from Crowley's TITAN Salvage subsidiary surveyed the port area Monday and determined that such an operation was possible. They also determined that it would be possible to establish a temporary docking structure on the beach using a Crowley 400-foot-long by 100-foot-wide flat deck barge. Crowley is mobilizing such a barge (the 410) and a crane from Orange, Texas that could be used for cargo discharge, and plans to have both on the scene in Port-au-Prince on, or about, Feb. 2.
Crowley has extensive experience designing solutions to complex challenges, and has delivered a multitude of large production modules, equipment and supplies across beaches for energy companies in the Russian Far East, Alaska's North Slope and West Africa.
A new wave of Haiti relief supplies in approximately 100 20-foot containers is being loaded today at Crowley's Port Everglades facility on the Roll On / Roll Off ship Crowley Americas and will be transported to Rio Haina for delivery on Saturday. Those containers, also moving under contract with USTRANSCOM, were consolidated and stuffed at Crowley's Miami warehouse. They will be trucked across the border into Haiti.
The Macajama is scheduled to return to Port Everglades over the weekend and load more relief cargo, which could be delivered directly to Port-au-Prince next week, if the test lightering operation is successful Friday.
As announced last Wednesday, Crowley has suspended indefinitely its regularly scheduled commercial cargo services to and from Haiti. The situation in Haiti remains unstable and Crowley's priority remains getting relief supplies to the people impacted by the devastating earthquake. Crowley continues to offer its twice weekly service to and from the Dominican Republic.
Those wishing to contribute humanitarian supplies to Haiti's relief effort should do so by contacting non-profit organizations such as Food for the Poor or Catholic Relief Services.
Jacksonville-based Crowley Holdings Inc., a holding company of the 118-year-old Crowley Maritime Corporation, is a privately held family and employee-owned company. The company provides diversified 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 the following services: liner container shipping, logistics, contract towing and transportation; ship assist and 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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