Balearia’s 1st LNG-Fueled Ferry Hits the Water

By Aiswarya Lakshmi April 2, 2018

Spanish shipping company Baleària Eurolínias Marítimas (Balearia)’s first of two liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fuelled ferries, Hypatia de Alejandría, has been floated out at the Italian shipyard Cantiere Navale Visentini.

The first ferry named Hypatia de Alejandría was launched on March 30, Baleària said in a statement, adding that the vessel would begin serving the Balearic Islands early 2019.

Baleària ordered the two sister vessels back in January 2017 with a price tag of 200 million euros ($246.6). Baleària says that these two ships will be the first LNG-powered ferries to operate in the Mediterranean.

The vessel has a length of 186.5 meters and it will be able to reach a maximum speed of 24 knots and will have a capacity for 810 people, 2,100 linear meters of cargo and 150 vehicles.

Baleària provides daily connections between the islands and the mainland (via the ports of Barcelona, Valencia and Denia), and it is the only company in the sector to operate inter-island sailings to all four islands of the archipelago, it claimed. It is one of the largest operators in the Straits of Gibraltar linking Ceuta and Melilla to mainland ports.