Haiti Relief

Crowley Establishing Flow of Relief Cargo

Crowley Maritime Corporation, working under contract with the U.S. Transportation Command (USTRANSCOM), is unloading Haiti relief cargo in Rio Haina, Dominican Republicy. Fifty six of the 68 20-ft 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 Jan. 22. 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 Jan. 18 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-ft-long by 100-ft-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.  

Expansion Plan at Haiti’s Terminal Varreux

Plans call for new jetties and increased depth, along with state-of-the-art container terminal facilities to be jointly developed   Haiti-based WIN Group and South Fla.-based Santé Holding announced having reached an agreement to re-develop Terminal Varreux, S.A. in Port-Au-Prince, the largest privately-owned shipping terminal and port facility in Haiti. The fourth generation WIN Group is a Caribbean conglomerates, with stakes in multiple industries

Coast Guard Continues Support in Haiti

The U.S. Coast Guard, the first Department of Homeland Security agency to provide assistance to Haiti following Tuesday's earthquake, continues to provide support Thursday to the U.S. Government's humanitarian assistance and disaster response efforts. The Homeland Security Task Force-Southeast has been activated in the U.S. Coast Guard 7th District. Based in Miami, this task force will be responsible for supporting U.S

Maersk Ships Rice to Haiti for Free

Maersk Line, part of the Danish group A.P. Moller - Maersk, will provide free ocean freight for 147 containers (3,525 metric tons) of rice donated by the Government of Thailand to Haiti through the World Food Program. The rice will be split and shipped across four sailings, from Laem Chabang, Thailand to Caucedo, Dominican Republic, before being trucked into Haiti. The first shipment set sail on 15 March 2010, on Maersk Line vessel Maersk Kendal

Hospital Ship Comfort Deploys to Haiti

Military Sealift Command hospital ship USNS Comfort (T-AH 20) departed Jan. 16 beginning a five to seven day transit to Haiti, where more than 800 military and civilian aid workers aboard the ship will provide relief in response to the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck the Caribbean nation Jan. 12. President Barrack Obama activated the ship, which houses one of the largest trauma facilities in the U.S., due to its capability to provide a full spectrum of surgical and medical services.

Cutter to Return to Mobile

The Coast Guard Cutter Cypress is scheduled to return to Coast Guard Base Mobile, Ala., Thursday at about 1 p.m. The crew of Cypress deployed to Haiti Feb. 26 in support of Operation Able Sentry, the U.S. government's response to increased migration from Haiti, following Haiti's domestic unrest. While deployed, the crew took part in a variety of missions, including: alien migrant interdiction; law enforcement; aids to navigation; assisting the Coast Guard Maritime Safety and Security Team

New Weekly Ocean Service to Haiti

A New Weekly Ocean Service to Haiti, operated by America Cargo Transport Corp., has been established with U.S. flag vessels and crews. The service loads every Friday/Saturday in Jacksonville, Fla. to Port-au-Prince, and/or Cap Haitien, Haiti. The service is accepting cargo booking requests for commerical cargoes, NGOs and Non-Profits. The service is accepting cargo bookings on a space available basis for ro-ro, containers (20-ft or 40-ft), breakbulk cargoes

This Day in Navy History - Auguts 27-29

August 27 1917 - Squadron of minesweepers departs U.S. for service off France 1944 - USS Stingray (SS-186) lands men and supplies on Luzon, Philippines to support guerilla operations against the Japanese. 1945 - Pacific Fleet ships enter Sagami Bay, near Tokyo, Japan. 1959 - Off Cape Canaveral, FL, USS Observation Island (EAG-154) makes first shipboard launching of a Polaris missile. August 28 1867 - Captain William Reynolds of Lackawanna raises U.S

WIN Group, Seacor Work on Haiti's Fuel Terminal

WIN Group, the Haitian conglomerate that owns and operates Terminal Varreux in Port-au-Prince, situated just five miles from the epicenter of the January 12 earthquake, and Seacor Holdings Inc. (NYSE: CKH) have launched an emergency response project to enable the crucial marine terminal to resume receiving bulk fuel and containerized cargoes thereby replenishing the stricken country’s rapidly dwindling supplies of gasoline, diesel fuel, fuel oil

Marad Activates More RRF Ships

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Maritime Administration (MARAD) today activated two more Ready Reserve Force (RRF) ships to support Operation Enduring Freedom. The activations follow orders received from the U.S. Navy’s Military Sealift Command. The two ships, the CAPE LOBOS and the CAPE LAMBERT, are part of the James River Reserve Fleet anchored near Fort Eustis, VA. “The maritime community has served America with great distinction during every major crisis in our Nation’s history