General Dynamics NASSCO launched the second ship in a series of the world’s first liquefied natural gas powered containerships.
The christening and launch ceremony took place on Saturday at the company’s shipyard in San Diego. The ship, the Perla del Caribe , was built for TOTE, a transportation and logistics company.
The new Marlin Class ships, constructed by NASSCO shipbuilders and measuring the same length as two-and-a-half football fields, will carry cargo exports between U.S.-owned ports.
The ships will reduce particulate matter by 98 percent and carbon dioxide emissions by 72 percent, the equivalent of removing more than 15,700 cars from the road, making them the cleanest cargo-carrying containerships in the world, according to a statement by NASSCO.
As part of a two-ship contract signed in December 2012 with TOTE, the 764-foot long Marlin class containerships will be the largest dry cargo ships of its kind in the world powered by LNG.
Upon delivery of the first vessel in late-2015, the Jones Act-qualified ships will operate between Jacksonville, Florida, and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
For its commercial work, NASSCO partners with South Korea’s Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), for access to ship design and shipbuilding technologies.
LNG World News Staff; Image: NASSCO