Report: Crowley in talks to buy Horizon Puerto Rico operations

   Crowley is reportedly “in talks to acquire Horizon Line’s port facilities in San Juan and its service between the mainland and Puerto Rico,” according to the publication Caribbean Business, which cited unnamed sources.
   However, Crowley Spokesman Mark Miller said, “Our plans have not changed. We are building two new, LNG-powered ConRo ships at VT Halter, and we are talking with the Puerto Rico Ports Authority about making improvements to our existing Isla Grande terminal to accommodate those ships when they are delivered and put into service in 2017.”
   Steven Rubin, the chief executive officer of Horizon Lines, said he had no comment on the report in Caribbean Business.
   Caribbean Business reported that “Crowley is at loggerheads with the Puerto Rico Ports Authority over tax credits it wants to cover the estimated $100 million the company will need to invest in its port’s facilities”  to receive the two new ships.
   The magazine continued, “The talks for the San Juan port facilities and lines are part of Horizon’s plans to sell all three of its Jones Act routes — San Juan, Alaska and Hawaii — to different buyers for each of these markets.”