Spanish Ferry Firm Starts LNG Retrofits

Spanish ferry operator, Balearia, said November 19 that it has begun retrofitting its Napoles ferry (shown above) to be powered by LNG.

It arrived at the Gibraltar Gibdock shipyards November 18 where the engines will be modified and an LNG tank installed onboard; work is expected to be completed by February 15. The total investment in this retrofit is €12mn ($14mn), of which 20% is funded by EU grants.

Balearia plans to retrofit the engines of five other ferries: Abel Matutes, Sicilia, Bahama Mama, and Martín i Soler with EU co-funding, plus one other without EU help, by end-2021.

The use of LNG is one of Balearia’s strategic commitments. It is currently completing the construction of the first newbuild LNG-fuelled ships that will sail the Mediterranean: Hypatia de Alejandria will begin operating early 2019 while Marie Curie will enter into service a few months after. It recently placed an order for a newbuild fast catamaran ferry with dual-fuel LNG engines. 

The first LNG electricity generator on a Spanish passenger ship, Abel Matutes, was installed last year 

Balearia chairman Adolfo Utor said: “We plan to have at least half of our fleet of ferries sailing with this clean energy within the next three years and reach 100% of the fleet within 10 years.”