Renderings of Crowley’s new Commitment Class, LNG-Powered, ConRo Vessel. Image (c) Crowley Maritime Corp.
Jacksonville, Florida-based Crowley Maritime Corporation on Monday announced that it has placed groundbreaking order for a pair of LNG-powered RoRo-containerships, becoming the latest in a growing list of U.S. operators opting for clean burning LNG in the Jones Act market.
Crowley said it has signed a contract with VT Halter Marine of Pascagoula, Mississippi to build two of the world’s first LNG-powered ConRo ships to provide Jones Act service between the United States mainland and Puerto Rico.
The so-called Commitment Class vessels are designed to travel at speeds up to 22 knots, carry containers ranging in size from 20-foot standard to 53-foot-long units, and hundreds of vehicles in enclosed, weather-tight car decking. The ships, to be named El Coquà (ko-kee) and TaÃno (tahy-noh), are scheduled for delivery in second and fourth quarter 2017 and will replace Crowley’s towed triple-deck barge fleet, which has served the trade continuously since the early 1970s.
“Our investment in these new ships – the first of their kind in the world – is significant on so many fronts,” said Tom Crowley, company chairman and CEO. “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.”
The vessel design has been brought to life by Warstila Ship Design in conjunction with Crowley subsidiary Jensen Maritime, a leading Seattle-based naval architecture and marine engineering firm. The new double-hulled ConRo ships have been designed to maximize the carriage of 102-inch-wide containers, which offer the most cubic cargo capacity in the trade. The ships will be 219.5 meters long, 32.3 meters wide, have a deep draft of 10 meters, and an approximate deadweight capacity of 26,500 metric tonnes. Cargo capacity will be approximately 2,400 TEUs, with additional space for nearly 400 vehicles. Crowley says the main propulsion and auxiliary engines will be fueled with LNG.
“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, 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.”
“We also understand what our car customers want, so we are pleased that these vessels will be the only ones in the trade to offer vehicle transportation in completely-enclosed, ventilated, weather-tight decks,” he said. “Coupled with the LNG fuel, customers can take satisfaction in that they are getting faster, more reliable service, while reducing the amount of CO2 emissions attributable to each container by approximately 38 percent. This design is a win-win for the customer and for the environment.”
“Safety and environmental protection were also at the forefront of our design process,” said Johan Sperling, Jensen vice present. “For example, one of the superior safety systems we engineered included a feature that places all fuel tanks behind double-wall voids with no exposure to the environment.”
Additionally, Sperling said the ships will meet or exceed all regulatory requirements and have the CLEAN notation, which requires limitation of operational emissions and discharges, as well as the Green Passport, both issued by classification society Det Norske Veritas (DNV).
Today’s announced order is the latest display of U.S. owners’ and operators’ appetite for LNG-powered vessels in the Jones Act market, following recent orders for dual fuel containerships from Matson, which has placed orders for two 3,600 TEU vessels at Aker Philadelphia, and TOTE, which has ordered at least three 3,100 TEU vessels from NASSCO in San Diego. In addition, Horizon Lines is also planning to convert two of its steam-powered containerships to the use of dual fuel for operation between Long Beach, California and Honolulu, Hawaii.
While the switch to LNG as a marine fuel in the Jones Act market is mostly praised, some have questioned the high costs associated with building such vessels.
By Malte Humpert (gCaptain) – Just days after securing funding in the FY 2025 budget to acquire a commercial icebreaker, the U.S. Coast Guard says it has made little headway...
SYDNEY, March 21 (Reuters) – Fiji will strike a deal with Australia to upgrade ports and shipbuilding infrastructure, months after its prime minister said it was likely to partner with China on the...
(Bloomberg) — Ukraine’s fight against Russia’s invasion has entered a new phase, pitting homegrown drone technology against a 2,000 kilometer (1,200 mile) swathe of largely Soviet-era oil facilities. At least...
March 20, 2024
Total Views: 13643
Why Join the gCaptain Club?
Access exclusive insights, engage in vibrant discussions, and gain perspectives from our CEO.
This website uses cookies to improve your experience while you navigate through the website. Out of these, the cookies that are categorized as necessary are stored on your browser as they are essential for the working of basic functionalities of the website. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. These cookies will be stored in your browser only with your consent. You also have the option to opt-out of these cookies. But opting out of some of these cookies may affect your browsing experience.
Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. This category only includes cookies that ensures basic functionalities and security features of the website. These cookies do not store any personal information.
Any cookies that may not be particularly necessary for the website to function and is used specifically to collect user personal data via analytics, ads, other embedded contents are termed as non-necessary cookies. It is mandatory to procure user consent prior to running these cookies on your website.