Crowley Maritime announced Nov. 25 that it has signed a
contract with Mississippi-based VT Halter Marine to build two of the world’s
first liquid natural gas-powered combination container roll-on/roll-off (Con/Ro)
ships.
The vessels are designed to travel at speeds up to 22 knots
and carry containers ranging in size from 20-foot standard to 53-foot-long,
102-inch-wide, high-capacity units, along with hundreds of vehicles in enclosed,
weather-tight car decking.
The Commitment Class, Jones Act ships are scheduled for
delivery in second and fourth quarters of 2017 to replace Crowley’s towed
triple-deck barge fleet, which has operated continuously since the early 1970s.
The new double-hulled Con/Ro 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 (beam), have a deep draft of 10 meters, and an approximate deadweight
capacity of 26,500 metric tons. Cargo capacity will be about 2,400 TEUs, with
additional space for nearly 400 vehicles. The main propulsion and auxiliary
engines will be fueled with LNG.
The new ships are to be named El Coquí (ko-kee) and Taíno
(tahy-noh). El Coquí is the common name for several species of small frogs that
are native to Puerto Rico, and Taíno were native Puerto Ricans who lived off
the land.
Crowley says Seattle-based subsidiary Jensen Maritime is
expected to provide management and supervision throughout the construction.
