February 23 - Jaxport has approved an expanded long-term lease with Crowley Liner Services, which will see Crowley relocate its Puerto Rican service from its private terminal alongside Jacksonville's harbour to the port's Talleyrand Marine Terminal.
The agreement will also see Crowley expand its current leasehold in preparation for the deployment of the company's two new LNG-powered con-ro ships, which are scheduled for delivery during the second and fourth quarter of 2017.
The new facilities lease agreement becomes effective on January 1, 2017 for a term of 20 years plus two 10-year mutual renewal options, and calls for Crowley's current 12-acre Talleyrand leasehold to be expanded to 50 acres.
"This agreement clearly reinforces our commitment to the Puerto Rican trade lane and our valued partners who serve the island - both critical components of our business for more than 50 years," said Jaxport ceo Brian Taylor.
John Hourihan, Crowley senior vice president and general manager of Puerto Rico services, added: "Concluding this lease agreement is an important milestone for Crowley as we look to transition to state-of-the-art Commitment Class ships, which will require terminal space like this to allow us to perform both lo-lo and ro-ro cargo operations."
