Crowley Christens LNG-Ready Product Tanker

Crowley Maritime Corp. today christened the first of four new Jones Act product tankers at the Tampa Cruise Terminal. The 50,000 dead-weight-tons (dwt), 330,000-barrel-capacity ship Ohio is the first tanker ever to receive the American Bureau of Shipping’s (ABS) LNG-Ready Level 1 approval, meaning Crowley has the option to convert the tanker to liquefied natural gas (LNG) propulsion in the future.

 

More than 100 guests watched as Pamela Beall, president of MPLX, a Marathon Petroleum Corporation subsidiary, broke a ceremonial bottle of champagne across the hull to christen the vessel.

 

Crowley's Chairman, President and CEO Tom Crowley Jr. said, “As the first of its kind to officially be LNG-ready, it is a testament to Crowley’s promise to seek additional ways to exceed the technological requirements of our petroleum customers while doing our part to reduce environmental emissions.”

 

Ohio was constructed by Aker Philadelphia Shipyard, Inc. (APSI), the wholly-owned U.S. subsidiary of Aker Philadelphia Shipyard ASA, with construction management services provided by Crowley’s Seattle-based, naval architecture and marine engineering subsidiary Jensen Maritime. The remaining three product tankers are also being built by APSI for Crowley and have planned deliveries through 2016.

 

The new tankers are based on a Hyundai Mipo Dockyards (HMD) design which incorporates numerous fuel efficiency features, flexible cargo capability and the latest regulatory requirements. Ohio is 600 feet long and is capable of carrying crude oil or refined petroleum products. Under direction of Captain Dan Loewer and Chief Engineer Donald Routley, the vessel has made two voyages to date carrying clean petroleum products to Florida.