(JACKSONVILLE, Fla.) — The second of Crowley Maritime Corp.’s new combination container/roll-on/roll-off con-ro ships — Taino, one of the first of its kind to be powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) — completed its maiden voyage to Puerto Rico on Friday morning, Jan. 11. The successful transit puts a historic capstone on the company’s Commitment-class modernization project and begins a new era of world-class supply chain services between the island commonwealth, U.S. mainland and the Caribbean Basin.
Taino, which departed Jan. 8 from its mainland home port of Jacksonville, Fla. (JAXPORT), is the second of two con-ro vessels constructed for Crowley. Sister ship El Coqui began its first-in-class service in July 2018.
The ships, built specifically for the Puerto Rico trade, are 720 feet long, 26,500 deadweight tons (dwt), and can transport up to 2,400 TEUs at a cruising speed of more than 22 knots. The ships carry a wide range of cargo types and sizes, including 53-foot by 102-inch-wide, high-capacity containers; up to 300 refrigerated containers; and 400 cars and larger vehicles in the enclosed and ventilated vehicle garages that are unique to the trade.
With the addition of Taino to its fleet, Crowley’s Commitment-class vessels are part of an overall logistics system, which increases supply chain velocity and reduces friction and landed costs for customers shipping through Jacksonville as a gateway to Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and the islands of the Caribbean Basin.
Taino is named for the native Puerto Ricans who lived off the land with great appreciation and respect for their environment, and El Coqui is named for the popular indigenous frog on the island.
Both vessels are operated with U.S. crews by Crowley’s global ship management group under Crowley Shipping. The vessels were constructed by VT Halter Marine at its Pascagoula, Miss., shipyard, with construction management provided by Crowley Solutions.
At JAXPORT, a new shoreside LNG fuel depot operated by Eagle LNG Partners supplies the cleaner, efficient fuel powering the ships.
LNG is a cleaner, more efficient fuel that offers significantly reduced emissions compared with other fuels, such as including a 100-percent reduction in sulphur oxide (SOx) and particulate matter (PM); a 92-percent reduction in nitrogen oxide (NOx); and a reduction of carbon dioxide (CO2) of more than 35 percent.
