VT Halter Marine, Inc., a subsidiary of VT Systems, Inc., has began construction on Taíno, Crowley Maritime Corp.’s second of two liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered, combination container – Roll-On/Roll-Off (ConRo) ships.
VT Halter Marine and Crowley entered into a contract for the pair of ships in November 2013 and construction began on the second ship with the first steel plate cutting in Pascagoula, Miss., on Thursday morning.
“This is a momentous occasion in the history of the company and in the Commitment Class build program, ” said John Hourihan, senior vice president and general manager, Puerto Rico liner services .
“ Like our customers, we have been waiting with great anticipation for construction to begin on the Taíno, and we look forward to the day in the near future that they will begin service between the U.S. mainland and Puerto Rico. These new ships embody superior technology, and will offer enhanced performance and safety while setting new standards for environmentally responsible shipping.”
The Commitment Class ships have been designed to maximize the carriage of 53-foot, 102-inch-wide containers, which offer the most cubic cargo capacity in the trade.
The ships will be 219.5 meters long, 32.3 meters wide (beam), have a deep draft of 10 meters, and an approximate deadweight capacity of 26,500 metric tonnes. Cargo capacity will be approximately 2,400 TEUs (20-foot-equivalent-units), with additional space for nearly 400 vehicles in an enclosed Ro/Ro garage. The main propulsion and auxiliary engines will be fueled by environmentally friendly LNG. The ship design was provided by Wartsila Ship Design in conjunction with Crowley subsidiary Jensen Maritime, a Seattle-based naval architecture and marine engineering firm.
The Jones Act ships will replace Crowley’s towed triple-deck barge fleet, which has served the trade since the early 1970s. El Coquí and Taíno are scheduled for delivery in the second and fourth quarter 2017 respectively.
Images: Crowley