Milestone: Launch of our Commitment Class ship El Coquí

2017-03-22

We wanted to share an exciting milestone: This week, we launched our new Commitment Class ship, ship El Coquí, one of the world’s first combination container/Roll on-Roll off (ConRo) ships powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG) at VT Halter Marine in Pascagoula, Miss. A video highlighting the launched can be viewed here.

El Coquí, named after a beloved frog native to the island, will now proceed through the final topside construction and testing phase before beginning service in the U.S. Jones Act trade during the second half of 2017. Its sister ship, Taíno, named for the indigenous people of Puerto Rico, is under construction, too.

The 2,400-TEU ships, which will offer capacity for 400 cars and 300 refrigerated units, is part of Crowley’s $550 million project to expand and modernize the company’s shipping and logistics services between Jacksonville, Fla., and San Juan, Puerto Rico. When complete, they will offer our customers and the people of Puerto Rico with the most modern and efficient supply chain services available in the trade. The Commitment Class project also includes innovations that enhance speed at efficiency at our Isla Grande Terminal in San Juan, Puerto Rico, including a new, 900-foot pier; three new, specialized gantry cranes; additional refrigerated container capacity; a new gate system and a state-of-the-art terminal operating system.

By using LNG, we can also offer a cleaner, environmentally fuel to power the ships, embodying our long-term history and deep commitment to the trade and the island commonwealth.