Americas News
Crowley Orders World's First LNG-Powered ConRo Ships
Crowley Maritime Corp. (Crowley) says it has ordered two of the world's first liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered ConRo ships from VT Halter Marine Inc. in Mississippi.
The vessels, scheduled for delivery in the fourth quarter of 2017, will be able to travel at up to 22 knots and will be capable of carrying a variety of container sizes along with hundreds of vehicles.
The ships, to be named El Coquí and Taíno, will replace Crowley's towed triple-deck barge fleet, which started operations in the early 1970s, on the company's Puerto Rico trades.
"Our investment in these new ships – the first of their kind in the world – is significant on so many fronts," said CEO Tom Crowley.
"We named them the Commitment Class of ships because they represent our commitment to our customers and the people of Puerto Rico whom we will continue to serve for years to come with the superior service they expect from Crowley."
Crowley added that the ships also reflect the company's desire to be environmentally responsible and its commitment to operating U.S.-built ships under the Jones Act.
Wartsila Ship Design and Jensen Maritime, Crowley's naval architecture and marine engineering subsidiary, helped to create the ships' design, which includes 2,400 twenty-foot-equivalent units (TEU) of cargo space and enclosed, weather-tight decks that can fit almost 400 vehicles.
"When we sat down with Jensen and Wartsila to design these ships, we started with a clean slate to address and incorporate the specific needs of the Puerto Rico market," said John Hourihan, senior vice president and general manager for Puerto Rico and Caribbean services.
"We are very excited to add faster transit times to our existing service offerings while maintaining our ability to handle 53-foot and refrigerated equipment that so many of our customers have come to rely on."
Jensen Vice President Johan Sperling recently said he anticipates a major surge toward the use of LNG-fuelled vessels.
