Issue link: http://digital.nexsitepublishing.com/i/778359
18 18 Huddled in the small quarters of unfinished steel, Osvaldo Rodriquez lights up an arc welding stick to a white hot glow. He leans in to join his next section of double-walled pipe for liquefied natural gas lines in a Crowley cargo ship under construction at VT Halter Marine in Pascagoula, Miss. Rodriquez knows each successfully welded joint – he has done 100 and counting – means progress, pride and opportunity. Eventually, Rodriquez's welding will help bring to life a brand new ship that will deliver goods to his native Puerto Rico, likely for decades. Crowley is building the ship, El Coquí, and sister ship Taíno to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG) for its shipping services between the mainland and Puerto Rico. The Commitment Class ConRo (combination container and Roll-On/Roll-Off) ships symbolize Crowley's commitment to its customers and employees, the people of Puerto Rico, the environment and the U.S. maritime industry. Constructing them is a source of pride for VT Halter's shipyard workers, particularly the 160 who are Puerto Ricans. "It kind of gives you a real nice sense of pride. It's just a big project and it's just awesome for me," said Rodriquez, 32. "This one is even more special because of the fact that its going to be delivering the goods for Puerto Rico, to Puerto Rico." Puerto Rican workers like Rodriquez, who moved with his family from the island for the work at the shipyard, make up 160 of the nearly 1,000-person workforce building the ships, including welders, pipefitters, outfitters and foremen. The economic opportunity for Rodriquez at the shipyard and his many friends and family on the island is clear to Rodriquez. For himself, he can gain valuable experience building an LNG fuel system. For Puerto Rico, which has weathered financial turmoil, it's a large new investment in the future of the island's economy. Like Rodriquez, many of the Puerto Rican workers have friends and family on the island, and the progress on the ships is an item of regular conversation among them. It's not just about jobs. The new ships are revolutionary in that they will be the first of their kind to ever be built, and the use of LNG as a fuel will make them run more efficiently and cleanly, helping reduce environmental impacts compared with other fossil fuels. "Maybe when Puerto Ricans go and witness this boat, they'll say wow, 'Puerto Ricans made that,'" said Eduardo Saez, 55, a pipefitter foreman. "It's awesome for me. When I started on this boat, I talked to my daughter and my son. I said, 'I've gone to start on a new boat and that boat is different. The good thing is this boat is going to help the economy, and it's going to help reduce emissions and help the people.'" "And my daughter and son said, 'It's good for you, Dad,'" said Saez. "And I said, 'It's better for you.'" Jones Act Delivers Jobs Crowley's investment in the new ships and terminal facilities, both in Puerto Rico and on the U.S. mainland, is possible because of the Jones Act, a law that requires that all goods transported over water between U.S. ports be carried on U.S.-flagged ships constructed in the United States, owned by U.S. citizens, and crewed by U.S. citizens and permanent residents. Years of mounting government debt weakened the economy on the U.S. commonwealth island. While some politicians have seized on Puerto Rico's economic hardships to try to exempt the island from the Jones Act, Crowley is demonstrating the act's benefit to people in Puerto Rico, directly providing jobs and new infrastructure to promote trade. Crowley's investment totals $550