Furuno outfitting Crowley's new LNG-fueled con-ros

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(CAMAS, Wash.) — Furuno, a leader in marine navigation equipment and electronics, is outfitting two new LNG-powered Commitment-class con-ro vessels, El Coqui and Taino, for Crowley Maritime Corp. The two purpose-built vessels are among the first to be powered by liquefied natural gas, the cleanest-burning fossil fuel available today.

These 720-foot ships, built by VT Halter Marine in Pascagoula, Miss., will operate between the United States and Puerto Rico. Each has a capacity of 26,500 dwt and both are designed to transport containers ranging from 20-foot standard to 53-foot high-capacity units, as well as hundreds of cars and other vehicles, while delivering a 38 percent reduction in CO2 emissions.

Furuno is providing a full suite of electronics, including ECDIS, autopilot, BNWAS, VDR and GMDSS, as well as multiple DGPS, satellite speed logs, depth sensors, NavTex, and other sensors and data displays. The heart of Crowley's navigation system is the FMD3200, a Furuno ECDIS with a streamlined chart management scheme and intuitive route planning. The network incorporates a track control system that coordinates the ship's exact position along a programmed route via the FAP3000 autopilot. Complete redundancy of the system is achieved with multiple FMD3200 installations working in concert with radar, differential GPS, and other collaborative systems.

The entire network is connected to each ship's bridge navigational watch alarm system, ensuring consistent monitoring at the helm, as well as a comprehensive voyage data recorder that collects and records data from all of these systems along with a multitude of onboard sensors.

For more information, visit www.FurunoUSA.com.

By Professional Mariner Staff