Crowley launches new Florida-Costa Rica-Jamaica loop

The liner carrier commenced a new service operating with two vessels between Jacksonville and Port Everglades in Florida, Costa Rica and Jamaica.    Crowley Maritime said Wednesday it has launched a weekly, fixed-day container shipping service between Florida, Costa Rica and Jamaica.
   The service’s full rotation is Jacksonville, Port Everglades, Kingston, Puerto Limon, Kingston, Port Everglades and Jacksonville.
   “We are pleased to bring this new service to the market beginning today from Jacksonville,” said Steve Collar, Crowley senior vice president and general manager, international liner services. “We are confident this service enhancement will add a new dimension to our portfolio of Latin America services and bring increased efficiency and savings to our customers.”
   Immediately prior to this new service, Crowley had a vessel call in Costa Rica as part of a vessel sharing agreement, said spokewoman Jenifer Kimble. “This new service will give it a direct Crowley call. In years past, Crowley has also serviced Costa Rica with what it used to call the Southern Zone service which was a rotation between Port Everglades, Panama and Costa Rica.”
   The company will use two container ships with a capacity of about 1,000 TEUs on the service, which will call at the Jacksonville Port Authority’s Talleyrand Terminal. It will call the northern Floridian port on Thursdays, Port Everglades, Fla. on Fridays, and arrive in Puerto Limon, Costa Rica on Wednesdays.
   The service will depart Costa Rica on Fridays, which Crowley said is an attractive end-of-the-work-week sailing for shippers of perishable goods.
   The company’s previous Jamaica service had called other Caribbean ports, which are now being shifted to other services.
   “With our warehousing and cross-dock operations in Jacksonville, we are well situated to funnel cargo originating outside Florida to Costa Rica, saving customers time and reducing their overall landed costs,” said Frank Larkin, Crowley senior vice president and general manager, logistics. “We can swing loads from trailers to ocean containers here, reducing equipment re-positioning expenses, and save the additional inland transportation costs that come with the traditional movement of cargo to South Florida.
   “Additionally, we believe we can achieve further velocity and continuity of customers’ supply chains by providing expert customs clearance for perishables and other cargos being imported through Jacksonville,” said Larkin.