VESSEL REVIEW | Quetzal, Copan & Tiscapa – LNG-fuelled containerships to serve Crowley's US-Latin America routes

Crowley Maritime Corporation recently placed three new LNG-fuelled container vessels into service following construction at South Korean shipbuilder HD Hyundai Mipo.

Sister ships Quetzal, Copán and Tiscapa each have an LOA of 170 metres (560 feet), a beam of 28 metres (92 feet), a draught of 7.9 metres (26 feet), and a container capacity of 1,400 TEUs including 300 refrigerated containers.

Supporting the Central America consumer product trade

The vessels will be operated on Crowley’s US-to-Central America routes, hence the selection of names that are of cultural and historical significance in Central America. Quetzal is named after Guatemala’s national bird and official currency, Copán honours a Mayan civilisation archaeological site in western Honduras, and Tiscapa is a 15-hectare lagoon in Nicaragua’s capital city of Managua.

The three vessels belong to a series that Crowley said is uniquely suited to quickly transport perishable goods like food and pharmaceuticals, as well as retail products, apparel, breakbulk cargo and other essential items.

Capable of operating with reduced greenhouse gas emissions

Crowley said the ships were specifically designed to quickly and frequently deliver cargo while using low-emission LNG for fuel for their MAN ME-GI engines (which also feature systems for reducing methane slippage).

Each ship’s main engine can deliver a service speed of just over 15 knots.

The three ships are being operated under charter from Singapore-based Eastern Pacific Shipping to transport goods between the US east coast and Central America via the Caribbean Basin. Torogoz, the fourth and final ship in the series (named after the national bird of El Salvador), is due to enter service in August 2025.

All four ships will sail under the flag of Liberia.