Crowley assists in power restoration on island near Puerto Rico

The Jacksonville, Fla.-based shipping company provided ocean transport, trucking, delivery coordination, port services and freight forwarding of breakbulk supplies and utility-related equipment to the island of Vieques.    Crowley Maritime Corp.’s liner and logistics teams recently provided supply chain management services for the first of several expected shipments of cargo to help restore power on the island of Vieques, located about eight miles from Puerto Rico, in the aftermath of Hurricane Maria, Crowley said Tuesday.
   Crowley’s groups provided ocean transport, trucking, delivery coordination, port services and freight forwarding of breakbulk supplies and utility-related equipment to the island from Puerto Rico’s capitol city, San Juan.
   Crowley’s Puerto Rico-based logistics group managed the delivery of power poles, cables, platforms and utility reconstruction equipment, and vehicles earlier this month under the U.S. government’s restoration mission.
   Crowley said its ship management group chartered a flat-deck barge named Amelie specifically to match Vieques port’s requirements for docking and discharging supplies and equipment. Partnering with Vieques officials, Crowley’s Puerto Rico services team organized terminal services, including providing stevedoring personnel and preparing the pier location to receive the vessel for cargo offloading.
   Working with private sector partners and the Federal Emergency Management Agency, Crowley has transported over 24,300 commercial container loads and more than 6,600 government container loads for relief and recovery since hurricanes impacted Puerto Rico last September.
   Crowley’s logistics team is assisting FEMA with long-distance and local trucking, deconsolidation and cross-docking at facilities on the U.S. mainland and in Puerto Rico.
   “Puerto Rico is home for many of us at Crowley, and it is humbling and gratifying for us to be able to help with the island’s recovery from the storm,” Crowley Logistics’ Puerto Rico General Manager Ayesha Diaz said.
   Crowley, which is based in Jacksonville, Fla., has 300 employees in Puerto Rico, and has served the island since 1954, longer than any U.S. Jones Act carrier in the trade.