Crowley Maritime Corp. and VT Halter Marine launched Crowley’s new Commitment Class ship El Coquí, one of the world’s first combination container/Roll on-Roll off (ConRo) ships powered by liquefied natural gas in Pascagoula, Miss.
Putting the ship into the water on Monday was the first in a series of milestones expected to be achieved this week as part of Crowley’s $550 million project to expand and modernize the company’s shipping and logistics services between Jacksonville, Fla., and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
El Coquí, like her sister ship Taíno, will be able to transport up to 2,400 twenty-foot-equivalent container units (TEUs) and a mix of nearly 400 cars and larger vehicles in the enclosed, ventilated and weather-tight Ro/Ro decks. A wide range of container sizes and types can be accommodated, ranging from 20-foot standard, to 53-foot by 102-inch-wide, high-capacity units, as well as up to 300 refrigerated containers.
Construction of both El Coquí and Taíno, the latter named for an indigenous people of Puerto Rico, is being managed in the shipyard by Crowley Marine Solutions, which includes naval architecture and marine engineering subsidiary Jensen Maritime .
Fueling the ships with LNG will reduce emissions significantly, including a 100-percent reduction in sulphur oxide (SOx) and particulate matter (PM); a 92-percent reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx); and a reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) of more than 35 percent per container, compared with current fossil fuels.
The U.S. Jones Act requires vessels in domestic waterborne trades to be owned by American citizens, built in the U.S. and crewed by U.S. mariners, thereby supporting investment in maritime infrastructure and more than 500,000 jobs and $100 billion a year in annual economic output.
The other project milestones expected to be reached soon include:
In San Juan, Crowley is scheduled to receive three new, ship-to-shore gantry cranes, manufactured by Liebherr Container Cranes, in Ireland, as early as Wednesday at the company’s Isla Grande Terminal. The cranes, which will be offloaded onto Crowley’s new 900-foot-long pier over several days, will be the first new, specialized gantry cranes to be received for operation in San Juan Harbor in more than five decades.
In Jacksonville, two 260-ton, cryogenic LNG tanks, constructed by Chart Industries in Europe, are expected to arrive at Crowley’s leased property at JAXPORT’s Talleyrand Marine Terminal within a week. The facility, scheduled for completion this summer, will be adjacent to Crowley’s operating terminal and will serve as the fueling station for the LNG-powered ships.
In addition to the ships, cranes and tanks, Crowley’s $550 million investment includes a new 900-foot-long, 114-foot-wide concrete pier at Isla Grande and associated dredging needed to accommodate the two new ships; expanding terminal capacity for handling refrigerated containers; paving 15 acres to accommodate container stacking; adding containers and associated handling equipment to its fleet; installing a new electrical substation to provide power for the new gantry cranes; constructing a new seven-lane exit gate for increased efficiency; installing hardware required for a new, state-of-the-art terminal operating software system, and more.
Crowley has served the Puerto Rico market from the 85-acre Isla Grande Terminal since 1954, longer than any other Jones Act carrier in the trade. The company, with more than 250 Puerto Rico employees, offers more weekly sailings in the market than any other shipping line.
Jacksonville-based Crowley Holdings Inc., a holding company of the 125-year-old Crowley Maritime Corporation, is a privately held family and employee-owned company. The company provides project solutions, energy and logistics services in domestic and international markets by means of six operating lines of business: Puerto Rico/Caribbean Liner Services, Latin America Liner Services, Logistics Services, Petroleum Services, Marine Services and Technical Services. Offered within these operating lines of business are: liner container shipping, logistics, contract towing and transportation; ship assist and escort; energy support; salvage and emergency response through its 50 percent ownership in Ardent Global; vessel management; vessel construction and naval architecture through its Jensen Maritime subsidiary; government services, and petroleum and chemical transportation, distribution and sales.