Crowley fuels its first LNG-powered ConRo newbuild

APRIL 11, 2018 — Crowley Maritime Corporation today marked a significant milestone in the construction of its two new Commitment Class, ConRo ships. Today, the first loads of frigid liquefied natural gas (LNG) were safely and successfully transferred into the first ship, El Coquí, which is nearing completion at shipbuilder VT Halter Marine in Pascagoula, MS.

Making the fill-up possible were Crowley partners Eagle LNG Partners and Clean Energy, who together loaded around 410,000 gallons of LNG on 41 trailers earlier this month. The companies trucked the trailers from their respective LNG plants to the shipyard where the vessel is being constructed, so that Crowley could begin transferring the LNG into the ship’s fuel tanks.

Each trailer load took around an hour to empty into 2,400 TEU El Coquí, and the entire transfer took several days to complete.

Now that the fuel has been delivered, the ship’s cryogenic, vacuum-insulated system will keep the LNG in a frigid state, around -260 degrees F, until it is ready for use.

Going forward, Eagle LNG Partners’ new liquefaction facility, located near Jacksonville, will exclusively support the ships’ fuel needs. To meet these demands, Eagle LNG and Crowley’s LNG engineering team together constructed a dockside LNG fuel depot at the company’s leased property at the JAXPORT Talleyrand Marine Terminal that will provide faster, more efficient fueling. This location was also engineered to feature a compact footprint specifically for ship bunkering operations.