Oceangoing container vessel from Crowley Maritime Corp wins Significant Boat of the Year award

Crowley Maritime Corp and subsidiary Jensen Maritime, the company’s Seattle-based naval architecture and marine engineering firm, have won the 2019 Significant Boat of the Year Award during the International Workboat Show (New Orleans).

This award recognises the company’s industry-leading combination container/roll on-roll-off (ConRo) ships, MV El Coquí and MV Taíno, the first of their kind powered by liquefied natural gas (LNG). This is the first time that the award has been presented to a large, oceangoing container vessel.

“The award 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,” says 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. They are a source of pride for us and for the men and women who designed, built and crew them.”

MV El Coquí

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.

Fuelling the ships with LNG is said to reduce emissions significantly, including a 100% reduction in sulphur oxide (SOx) and particulate matter (PM), a 92% decrease in nitrogen oxide (NOx), and 35% reduction in carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions per container, compared with current fossil fuels.