San Francisco: Florida-based Crowley Maritime has added 16 additional ISO tanks in response to high demand for liquefied natural gas (LNG) from customers in Puerto Rico, other islands in the Caribbean and Central America.
The 40-foot tanks, which meet the standards of the ISO (International Organisation for Standardisation) can each hold 10,700 gallons of LNG. In anticipation of a global boom in demand for LNG, the US is busy approving and developing specialised LNG shipping terminals along its coastline.
Crowley, an international transportation and logistics company based in Jacksonville, bought the tanks through its Carib Energy Group.
A Crowley spokesman said the purchase of the tanks was not just to cover the upturn in regional demand because technological improvements in the tanks would have long-term economic efficiency benefits – increasing offload rates, allowing for faster fuel transfers.
Last year the US Department of Energy granted Carib Energy a 20-year export licence for the distribution of LNG into Non-Free Trade Agreement countries in the Caribbean, Central and South America
