Shipping companies put aside competition to get supplies to Puerto Ricans

Crowley, TOTE Maritime started work hours after Hurricane Maria

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico – Separated by a bay and competition for business, Crowley and TOTE Maritime shipping companies in San Juan, Puerto Rico, joined forces after Hurricane Maria hit the island.

TOTE Maritime vice president Eduardo Pagan said after the storm, he and his company's competitor turned to compassion.

"When an event of that nature (comes) there is no time for competition. It's about how we can actually work together for the benefit of everybody on the island," Pagan said.

The two ports, centered near Old San Juan, sustained minor damage during the storm.

A few empty shipping containers were knocked over, but work for both companies began almost immediately after Maria had passed. 

Crowley director Jose Narazio said he didn't know what to expect when he walked into work after Hurricane Maria hit the island. What he found were his employees and containers ready to be loaded at the port.

"Forty-eight hours after the hurricane, the bay of San Juan opened at 8 a.m. in the morning on Saturday. A 10 a.m. we were working the first barge and just in a couple of hours we were dispatching cargo to the street," Nazario said.

The frustration for both Crowley and TOTE Maritime wasn't the lack of containers coming in. It was where to put them and how to get them distributed.

"Truckers were not able to come to the terminal because of the roads. They were blocked. Even though the cargo was arriving on the barges the terminal got congested because cargo was not dispersed at the same pace," Nazario said. 

For TOTE Maritime, work continued outside the port.

Employees fed families two times a week in surrounding neighborhoods  and offered meals to anyone in need.

Hurricane Maria may have weakened the island on the surface, but the storm strengthened the core of the island. 


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