U.S. Broward County’s (Florida) Port Everglades has welcomed its first cargo ship fueled by liquified natural gas (LNG).
Quetzal, a newbuild containership chartered by U.S. shipping and logistics company Crowley from Singapore-based company Eastern Pacific Shipping, made the inaugural call.
As disclosed, several LNG-powered cruise ships, including U.S. Princess Cruises’ Sun Princess and Monaco-based Silversea’s Silver Nova and Silver Ray, have already visited Port Everglades, however, this is the first LNG-powered cargo ship to call.
CEO and Port Director Joseph Morris stated: “ Over the last year, our port has welcomed several cruise ships that use LNG, and we applaud Crowley’s efforts to reduce its impact when transporting perishables through Florida’s No. 1 port for perishable goods. It’s clear that our maritime future relies on innovation and continuous evolution.”
To note, this was also Quetzal’s first U.S. port call as part of its route between Central America and the U.S. The newbuild, one of four Avance Class vessels that will operate under a long-term time charter to Crowley, is on its maiden commercial voyage.
With a capacity for 1,400 TEUs and 300 refrigerated unit plugs for transporting perishable cargo, all these containerships feature German MAN Energy Solutions’ high-pressure ME-GI engines, which are said to reduce methane slippage to “negligible levels” and make these vessels the “most environmentally efficient” in their category.
It is worth mentioning that Port Everglades reportedly handles an average of one million TEUs annually and serves as a gateway to Latin America, the Caribbean, Europe and Asia. Located within the Florida cities of Dania Beach, Fort Lauderdale and Hollywood, it is said to be in the heart of one of the world’s largest consumer regions.