The combination container/roll-on roll-off vessel El Coquí, built for shipping company Crowley Maritime Corporation, has received its first loads of frigid liquefied natural gas (LNG).
The vessel is the first of two new Commitment Class ConRo ships being built for the U.S. mainland to Puerto Rico trade.
Crowley’s partners Eagle LNG and Clean Energy together loaded around 410,000 gallons of LNG on 41 trailers earlier this month.
The duo trucked the trailers from their LNG plants to VT Halter Marine’s shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, where the vessel is being constructed, so that Crowley could start transferring the LNG into the ship’s fuel tanks.
Now that the fuel has been delivered, the ship’s cryogenic, vacuum-insulated system will keep the LNG in a frigid state until it is ready for use.
Crowley said that its new ships will offer optimal performance and safety while setting new standards for environmentally responsible shipping.