Crowley’s latest Avance Class ship, Torogoz, began its inaugural commercial service on Tuesday, departing from Port Everglades, Florida, to serve Central America. The vessel’s commencement is a capstone on the company’s initiation of the four-vessel, Avance Class containership fleet.
With a capacity of 1,400 TEUs (20-foot equivalent units), including 300 refrigerated containers, the ship is specifically designed and equipped to quickly and frequently deliver cargo, including apparel, fresh produce, food products, pharmaceuticals and textiles, between the U.S and El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.
Torogoz, like the other Avance class vessels, is powered by lower-emission liquefied natural gas (LNG), advancing the company’s next era of faster, frequent ocean shipping that reduces impacts at sea and at port.
The Torogoz follows the operation of its sister ships: Tiscapa, Quetzal and Copán. All four of the Avance Class ships are named to honor the cultural aspects of Central America, where Crowley has operated shipping and logistics services for more than 60 years. Torogoz, also known as a turquoise-browed motmot, is the national bird of El Salvador. Revered by Mayan and other Mesoamerican civilizations, the bird has likely lived on the continent for thousands of years and has long held spiritual significance in the region.