Baleària deploys the world's second dual-fuel gas-powered 'fast ferry' on the Barcelona-Mallorca-Menorca route

Esto es un subtítulo

• The catamaran increases available capacity on the high-speed service by 50% while reducing the route's carbon footprint thanks to its gas propulsion.
• The shipping company has invested €126 million in building the vessel, which can carry 1,200 passengers and 425 vehicles.
  

Baleària is today deploying the world's second 'fast ferry' fitted with dual-fuel gas engines, the Margarita Salas, on the Barcelona - Alcúdia - Ciutadella route. More than 450 people will be the first passengers to travel on the new vessel when it departs Barcelona at 16:30. A pioneer in innovation and sustainability, it also brings speed and comfort to sea connections between Mallorca, Menorca and the Catalan capital. 

The addition of this catamaran, which can carry 1,200 passengers and 425 vehicles, enables Baleària to increase high-speed passenger capacity on the Barcelona-Alcúdia-Ciutadella route by 50% and double the number of vehicles carried, while reducing its carbon footprint. Natural gas cuts CO₂ and nitrogen oxide emissions and completely eliminates sulphur and particulate emissions. Baleària has invested €126 million in the vessel.

‘More than 20 years ago, we arrived in Barcelona with the aim of providing a high-speed connection between the city, Mallorca and Menorca. Now, with this innovative 'fast ferry', we are becoming more competitive because we can carry more passengers, in greater comfort and with more services, all year round, while producing far fewer atmospheric emissions thanks to our commitment to cleaner fuels,’ said Baleària's president, Adolfo Utor. 

Utor noted that the new catamaran is the eleventh vessel in the company's fleet to be fitted with dual-fuel gas engines, a versatile technology that allows it to sail using different fuels, including natural gas today and carbon-neutral renewable sources in the future. ‘This innovative fleet enables us to use the fuel currently available, reduce emissions and place ourselves in a leading position as we work towards the 2050 decarbonisation target,’ Utor emphasised.

The shipping company estimates that the Margarita Salas will prevent the emission of almost 13,000 tonnes of CO₂ a year, 22% less than the 'fast ferry' previously operating on the route. In addition, the new vessel's greater passenger capacity will halve the tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted per passenger.

From this afternoon, the new 'fast ferry' will connect Barcelona with Alcúdia and Ciutadella every day throughout the year. Three days a week it will call first at Mallorca and then at Menorca, while on the other four days it will call first at the Menorcan port before continuing to Alcúdia. Direct crossings take three and a half hours.

On-board services

The 'fast ferry' has two passenger decks with spacious, bright and comfortable interiors, and offers a range of seating options (standard, premium and private lounges). Passengers can enjoy a large outdoor terrace and services including a café, shop, children's area with interactive digital games, free internet access and instant messaging throughout the crossing, online boarding passes with allocated seating, a free digital entertainment platform and an air-conditioned pet area with video surveillance. 

In terms of technical specifications, the vessel is 123 metres long and 28 metres wide. It has four dual-fuel natural gas engines that allow it to reach a cruising speed of 35 knots, with 10% more power than the first vessel in the series. It is equipped with two liquefied natural gas tanks, enabling it to sail 400 miles on gas and giving it a total range of 1,000 miles.

In addition, the Margarita Salas has a stabilisation system to reduce movement and improve comfort, as well as an elastically mounted superstructure and high-tech insulation to minimise vibration and noise. It also features an OPS (Onshore Power Supply) system so that it can connect to the shore-side electricity supply while in port, along with measuring equipment that monitors actual fuel consumption and calculates engine efficiency, among other functions. These sensors provide real-time information to support efficient navigation and adjust speed and course to improve comfort according to sea conditions. 

The vessel is named in tribute to the biochemist Margarita Salas, a leading figure in Spanish science and molecular biology research, with an extensive body of scientific publications. 

Leading international experts (Wärstilä, Incat Crowther, Bureau Veritas and Marintek-Sintef) and Spanish partners (Cotenaval, Oliver Design and Jorge Belloch) took part in building this innovative and sustainable catamaran, which received financing from CaixaBank and the European Union's Next Generation funds under the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism (RRM).