Crowley Maritime Corp. and subsidiary Jensen Maritime, the company’s Seattle-based naval architecture and marine engineering firm, were honoured with the 2019 Significant Boat of the Year Award during the International Workboat Show in New Orleans last week.
This award recognises the company’s industry-leading combination container/roll on-roll off (ConRo) ships, El Coquí and Taíno, the first of their kind powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG).
Workboat’s recognition of the ConRos as tops among its annual Significant Boats honorees marks the first time that the award has been presented to a large, oceangoing container vessel.
“The award for Crowley’s LNG-powered ConRos comes on the heels of the successful closeout of our $550 million investment to transform the way we service our cargo shipping and logistics customers,” said Rob Grune, senior vice president and general manager, Crowley Shipping.
“These innovative vessels, the first of their kind to be powered by LNG, have greatly expanded the company’s US-flag cargo fleet and allow us to provide our customers with safe, reliable, fast cargo transportation services.”
Wärtsilä’s ship design team worked together with contributions from the Crowley/Jensen teams to successfully produce the Commitment Class vessels from the keel up to meet the specific needs of Crowley’s customers shipping cargo between the US mainland and Puerto Rico, the ships’ dedicated trade under the Jones Act.
Both ships were built in the U.S. at VT Halter Marine shipyard in Pascagoula, Miss., with onsite construction management by Crowley, and were delivered in July and December 2018.
