Page 51: of Maritime Reporter Magazine (February 2015)

VT Halter Lays Keel for Crowley LNG ConRo

The keel for the ? rst of two LNG-pow- ered, combination container – Roll-On/

Roll-Off (ConRo) ships for Crowley Mari- time Corp.’s liner services group was laid during a ceremony at ship-builder

VT Halter Marine, Inc.’s facility in Pasca- goula, Miss. The keel laying ceremony marked the next step in the construc- tion of Crowley’s ? rst Commitment Class ship, which will serve the U.S.-Puerto

Rico trade lane, replacing the company’s towed triple-deck barge ? eet in the South

Atlantic trade. The new Jones Act ships, to be named El Coquí (ko-kee) and Taíno (tahy-noh), will be built at the Pascagoula facility, with deliveries scheduled for mid and late 2017, respectively. The ship de- sign is provided by Wärtsilä Ship Design in conjunction with Crowley subsidiary

Jensen Maritime. The ship will measure 219.5 x 32.3m wide with a draft of 10m, and an approximate deadweight capacity of 26,500 metric tons. Cargo capacity will be approximately 2,400 TEUs, with additional space for nearly 400 vehicles in an enclosed RoRo garage.

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