Image: Crowley Maritime Corp.

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Crowley Maritime Corp. has taken delivery of El Coqui - the first of two Commitment-class, LNG-powered ConRo ships built for Crowley's shipping and logistics services between Jacksonville (Jaxport), US, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.

El Coqui is due to make its maiden voyage to San Juan later this month from Jacksonville, whilst its sister ship, Taino, is scheduled to enter service later this year.

Commenting on the news, Matthew Paxton, president of the Shipbuilders Council of America, said: "This is a thrilling time for the U.S. shipbuilding industry, as evolutions in LNG technology are providing a historic opportunity for American yards and the supporting industrial base to design, build and outfit some of the most technically-advanced and environmentally-friendly vessels that are the envy of the world."

"El Coqui is a shining example of the work being done each day in our industry, and we are proud to support her, her crew and those who built her, as El Coqui embarks on her first journey from Jacksonville to San Juan."

Back in May, El Coqui was supplied with LNG for the first time in a milestone operation involving Eagle LNG Partners and Clean Energy, who together delivered around 410,000 gallons of LNG on 41 trailers from their respective LNG plants.

Going forward, Eagle LNG Partners' new liquefaction facility, located in Maxville, will exclusively support the fuel needs of both El Coqui and Taino. Crowley's first loading of LNG from Maxville took place in March.

To meet these demands, Eagle LNG and Crowley's LNG engineering team have together constructed a dockside LNG fuel depot at Crowley's leased property at Jacksonville's Talleyrand Marine Terminal which will be used for ship bunkering operations.