Baleària orders two fully-electric ferries from Spanish shipyard

Spanish shipping company Baleària has commissioned two fully electric RoPax (roll-on/roll-off) passenger vessels from Astilleros Armon’s Gijón shipyard in Spain.

IMAGE: Baleària’s fully electric RoPax concept. Incat Crowther

Designed by Australian marine tech company Incat Crowther, the new vessels ESPAÑA 2030 and MAROC 2030 will each have 16 megawatts (MW) of electric power from four electric propulsion units powered by 11,500 kilowatt-hour (kWh) batteries.

They are scheduled to enter service in 2027, connecting Tarifa, Spain, with Tangier, Morocco, to create the first “green corridor” between Europe and Africa, according to Baleària.

Charging will be handled by two autonomous robotic arms at each port, connected to the vessels via an onshore power system, enabling them to recharge the energy needed for the route in just 40 minutes.

The project follows Baleària’s award of a Bay of Algeciras Port Authority tender to service the route.

By Tuhin Roy

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