Video: Construction Begins on Jaxport LNG Facility
Crowley Maritime and Eagle LNG Partners have released a video on the construction of a new LNG facility at Jaxport’s Talleyrand Marine Terminal in Jacksonville, U.S.
The LNG bunker fueling facility will serve Crowley’s new Commitment Class, LNG-powered, ConRo ships that are under construction for use in the U.S. Mainland-Puerto Rico trade.
Within the month, Chart Industries is expected to deliver two of its new, one-million liter Decinske Giant cryogenic tanks for LNG storage at the site. Weighing 260 tons, each cryogenic storage tank holds enough LNG to cover an average family’s electricity demand for 1,000 years. The tanks are en route to Jacksonville from Europe.
“Because of its multiple benefits, including being cleaner for the environment, we expect LNG demand for ship fuel to increase to 30 million tons a year (MTPA) by 2030,” said Eagle LNG President Sean Lalani.
Including the Jacksonville project, Crowley is investing more than $550 million in the two new Commitment Class, Jones Act ships, along with a new 900-foot pier and three new gantry cranes at its Isla Grande terminal in San Juan, Puerto Rico.
The ships will begin service in the second half of 2017 and first half of 2018. They are designed to travel at speeds up to 22 knots and carry containers ranging in size from 20-foot standard to 53-foot-long, 102-inch-wide, high-capacity units, along with vehicles in enclosed, weather-tight car decking.
VT Halter Marine and Crowley entered into a contract for the pair of ships in November 2013. The ship design is provided by Wärtsilä Ship Design in conjunction with Crowley subsidiary Jensen Maritime.
The ships have been designed to maximize the carriage of 53-foot, 102-inch-wide containers, which offer the most cubic cargo capacity in the trade, says Crowley. They will be 219.5 meters (720 feet) long, 32.3 meters (106 feet) wide, have a draft of 10 meters (33 feet) and an approximate deadweight capacity of 26,500 metric tons. Cargo capacity will be approximately 2,400 TEUs, with additional space for nearly 400 vehicles in an enclosed RoRo garage.
The new ships, named El Coquí (ko-kee) and Taíno (tahy-noh), will replace Crowley’s towed triple-deck barge fleet, which has served the trade continuously since the early 1970s.
Containerized LNG
Last year, Crowley Maritime’s LNG services group has been awarded a multi-year contract to supply containerized LNG from the U.S. mainland to Molinos de Puerto Rico, the Caribbean arm of Ardent Mills LLC, the territory’s leading supplier of flour as well as wheat, corn and rice-based food ingredients.
The contract, executed through Crowley’s subsidiary Carib Energy (USA), includes both the supply and transportation of LNG and will help Molinos expand environmental sustainability efforts and better manage any weather-related power challenges that can affect the island of Puerto Rico.
The transportation of LNG from liquefaction facilities on the mainland to Molinos’ plant will involve the over-the-road transport of 40-foot ISO containers, authorized by the U.S. Department of Transportation to carry approximately 10,000 gallons of LNG, to the company’s Jacksonville shipping terminal. Once in Puerto Rico, the LNG will be re-gasified and used for power consumption.