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Crowley Maritime Corp. has announced that Ray Martus, vice president, is now presiding over the project management team, with responsibilities for vessel construction management, drydocking strategies and offshore marine projects.

Notably, his scope of work includes completion of Crowley's LNG-fuelled ConRo ships for the company's Puerto Rico liner services division.

Construction of both of Crowley's Commitment-class ConRos, El Coqui and Taino, has been managed by Crowley Marine Solutions, which includes naval architecture and marine engineering subsidiary Jensen Maritime.

El Coqui was launched in March 2017 and is now in final testing prior to entering service in early 2018, whilst Taino was launched last month in Pascagoula, Mississippi; it is now in the final topside construction and testing phase before beginning service later this year.

The two LNG-powered vessels are to be used to transport products between Jacksonville, Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico. Crowley has also built an LNG fuel depot in Jacksonville, which will be used to bunker both ConRo ships.

Martus has a bachelor's degree in marine engineering from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy at Kings Point, New York, with a license as Third Assistant Engineer, and a master's degree in business administration from the University of Florida.

He sailed for 12 years with various companies, including Crowley, and on U.S.-flag steam and diesel ships as an engineer, ultimately obtaining his chief engineer unlimited license.