Crowley’s newest cargo ship, El Coquí, arrives to San Juan
Crowley Maritime Corp. sailed its newest cargo ship into San Juan Monday — El Coquí, one of the first combined container/roll on roll (ConRo) vessels powered by liquefied natural gas.
El Coquí, the first of two ConRo Class Commitment ships, is powered by LNG and was built for Crowley freight and logistics shipping services between Jacksonville, Florida, and San Juan. Its crossing time was 2.5 days, and carried 750 cargo containers.
“We’re proud to receive El Coquí, which has brought cargo for, among others, Econo Supermarkets,” Crowley Puerto Rico vice president José Ayala.
“The pharmaceutical industry made use of Crowley’s latest generation refrigerated equipment. Inaugurating the area dedicated to vehicle, with space for 400 cars, were Toyota and Chrysler,” he said.
The El Coquí’s crew includes 11 Puerto Ricans, Crowley’s Senior Vice President John Hourihan said.
The construction of the sister ship Taíno is underway at the VT Halter Marine shipyard in Pascagoula, Mississippi, and scheduled to enter the Puerto Rico service route later this year.
Crowley’s new vessels, built specifically for the Puerto Rico market, measure 720 feet, 26,500 deadweight tons (DWT), and can transport up to 2,400 units of 20-foot equivalent containers at a speed of 22 knots.
A wide range of sizes and types of containers will be accommodated, company executives said, including high-capacity containers of 53 feet by 102 inches, up to 300 refrigerated containers, and a mix of approximately 400 automobiles and larger vehicles and parts in the enclosed, ventilated and under weather resistant Ro/Ro covers. This type of on-board garage is offered exclusively by Crowley for Puerto Rico.
Nice! I am glad to see our island is getting better. This means more shipping possibilities. After hurricane María, we need all the help we can get to move the economy.