Crowley’s First LNG-Powered ConRo Fuels Up at VT Halter Marine

Photo: Crowley

The first supply of liquefied natural gas fuel has been loaded onto Crowley Maritime’s new combination container and roll-on/roll-off ship that is now nearing completion in Mississippi.

According to Crowley, around 410,000 gallons of super-chilled LNG was recently loaded into the El Coquí’s cryogenic fuel tank at the VT Halter Marine shipyard in Pascagoula, where the two Commitment Class “ConRo” ships are being built. 

The two ships, El Coquí and Taíno, will operate in the Jones Act trade between the U.S. mainland and Puerto Rico. Each will be capable of transporting up to 2,400 twenty-foot-equivalent container units (TEUs) and a mix of nearly 400 cars and larger vehicles. 

The vessels will be the first of their kind to run on LNG, leading to a significant reduction in emissions compared to traditional fuels.

To supply the LNG, Crowley partnered with Eagle LNG and Clean Energy to supply the fuel in 41 trailers that were trucked to the shipyard and then transferred onto the ship, Crowley said in a blog post. 

Going forward, LNG fuel for two ships will be supplied exclusively by Eagle LNG Partners’ new liquefaction facility near Jacksonville, where the vessels will be based out of.

To support fueling of the ships, Eagle LNG Partners and Crowley have constructed a dockside LNG fuel depot on Crowley-leased property at the JAXPORT Talleyrand Marine Terminal on the St. Johns River.