Crowley Maritime Corporation announced that with the recent setting of the main engine onto El Coquí, the first of two new, Commitment Class ConRo (combination container and Roll/On-Roll/Off) ships has reached a new milestone. The ships will be powered by liquefied natural gas for use in the ocean cargo trade between Jacksonville and Puerto Rico.
“This state-of-the-art engine technology will add efficiency while continuing to reduce impacts on the environment, one of Crowley’s top priorities,” said John Hourihan, senior vice president and general manager, Puerto Rico services.
“Utilizing this green technology is just another way we are demonstrating our commitment to the people of Puerto Rico, our customers and the environment. It also bears mentioning that neither of these ships, which have been designed specifically for the Puerto Rico trade, gets built without the Jones Act, a federal statute that provides for the promotion and maintenance of a strong American merchant marine.”
A video showing the progress of setting the engine may be viewed below
The engine was placed using a series of heavy lifts by 500-ton cranes in the shipyard of VT Halter Marine, a subsidiary of VT Systems, Inc., where El Coquí (ko-kee) and sister ship, Taíno (tahy-noh), are under construction. The engine has a total weight of 759 metric tons and measures 41 feet high, 41 feet in length, and 14.7 feet wide.
These Commitment Class, Jones Act ships are designed to travel at speeds up to 22 knots while maximizing the carriage of 53-foot, 102-inch-wide containers. Cargo capacity will be approximately 2,400 TEUs (20-foot-equivalent-units), with additional space for nearly 400 vehicles in an enclosed Ro/Ro garage.
Source & Image Credit: Crowley
