Page 17: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (January 2014)

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Crowley Orders

LNG-Powered ConRo

Crowley announced plans late last year to effectively extend its legacy of shipping in the U.S. ordering LNG-powered combination container – Roll-

On/Roll-Off (ConRo) ships. Crowley signed a contract with VT Halter Ma- rine to build two of the world’s fi rst LNG-powered ConRo ships, ships that 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, scheduled for delivery in second and fourth quarter 2017, will replace Crowley’s towed triple-deck barge fl eet, which has served the trade since the early 1970s. The new ships will 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 and who had great appreciation and respect for their environment. “Our investment in these new ships – the fi rst of their kind in the world – is signifi cant on so many fronts,” said Tom Crowley, company chairman and

CEO. “We named them the Commitment Class of ships because they repre- sent 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.” “Second, it refl ects Crowley’s commitment to EcoStewardship in that we are developing and using best-available technology that allows for improved emissions, advanced ballast water management and alternative fuel selec- tion,” he said. “And lastly, our actions are clear evidence of our commitment to the U.S. maritime industry and the Jones Act. American built, crewed and owned ensures U.S. shipbuilding capabilities, skilled U.S. merchant seamen, and available domestic vessel tonnage, all of which are of vital importance to our national defense.”

The vessel design has been brought to life by Wärstilä Ship Design in con- junction with Crowley subsidiary Jensen Maritime, a Seattle-based naval ar- chitecture and marine engineering fi rm. 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 ve- hicles. The main propulsion and auxiliary engines will be fueled with LNG. “Safety and environmental protection were also at the forefront of our de- sign 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 re- quirements and have the CLEAN notation, which requires limitation of op- erational emissions and discharges, as well as the Green Passport, both issued by classifi cation society Det Norske Veritas (DNV). (Photo: Cr owley)

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