Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is the secret ingredient for a new class of containerships operated by Crowley, a Jacksonville, Florida-based ship owner and operator. Choosing LNG as fuel instead of conventional diesel lowers a vessel’s greenhouse gas emissions—including sulfur oxide, carbon dioxide, and nitrogen oxide—while eliminating particulate matter, the company says.
Crowley put that theory into practice in April when it launched the LNG-powered Quetzal from the Port of Santo Tomás, Guatemala. The vessel is the first of four “Avance Class” (the name translates to “advance” in English) containerships it plans to deploy in the Caribbean Basin.
The **ital{Quetzal} and its sister ships—the Copan, Tiscapa, and Torogoz—are designed to transport perishable goods like food and pharmaceuticals as well as retail products, apparel, and breakbulk cargo. Each vessel has a capacity of up to 1,400 twenty-foot equivalent units (TEUs) and can accommodate a variety of container sizes.
The Avance Class vessels, built by Hyundai Mipo Dockyard of Korea for owner Eastern Pacific Shipping, are all expected to enter service in 2025. They will operate under long-term charters to Crowley, which will use them to haul cargo between the U.S., Central America, and the Dominican Republic.
“Quetzal and the Avance Class ships represent the next generation of Crowley’s innovation and leadership in supply chain solutions for international shipping in the Caribbean Basin,” Tom Crowley, chairman and CEO of Crowley, said in a release. “The vessels provide frequent service and greater capabilities to deliver cargo at peak timing while carrying forward Crowley’s high operational standards.”
