Crowley christens new LNG conversion-ready product tanker

Recently, Crowley Maritime Corp. took delivery of MT West Virginia – an LNG conversion-ready product tanker built for the company by the sole operating subsidiary of Philly Shipyard ASA – Philly Shipyard Inc. (PSI). Now, Crowley has announced that it has officially christened the vessel, with Anne Swearingen, the wife of the Senior Vice President of Marathon Petroleum Corp., John Swearingen, performing the traditional breaking of the bottle of champagne across the vessel’s hull. The ceremony took place at Philly Shipyard in the US.

The vessel will join its three sister ships: Louisiana, Ohio and Texas, which Crowley received in 2015 and 2016, and were the first-ever tankers to receive ABS’s LNG-Ready Level 1 approval.

The Chairman and CEO of Crowley Maritime, Tom Crowley, said: “Today represents a banner day for our company, Marathon Petroleum and Philly Shipyard as we welcome the West Virginia to our tanker fleet.

“The christening of this vessel, along with its sister ships, represents the best of the US maritime industry – from the men and women who built her to the men and women who will operate her with great safety, integrity and high performance.”

The new tankers are based on a proven Hyundai Mipo Dockyards (HMD) design, which incorporates a number of fuel efficiency features, flexible cargo capability and the latest regulatory requirements. All of the vessels are 50 000 dwt, 600 ft long, and are capable of carrying 330 000 barrels of product.

Edited from press release by David Rowlands

Read the article online at: https://www.lngindustry.com/small-scale-lng/17082016/crowley-christens-new-lng-conversion-ready-product-tanker-2914/