The world’s largest aluminium ferry will feature LNG dual-fuel propulsion
South American ferry operator Buquebus has ordered the world’s largest aluminium ferry which will feature LNG dual-fuel propulsion.
Incat Tasmania will build the 130-m long ship that will operate between Argentina and Uruguay. The completed vessel will be the largest aluminium ferry ever built and the ninth vessel for Incat’s customer.
The 130-m ferry will join the other Incat-built ships serving ports on the River Plate between Argentina and Uruguay.
At a probable 13,000 gt the vessel will carry 2,100 passengers and 220 cars. Incat said the duty-free shop will be world’s largest fitted on a ship, with over 3,000 m2 of retail floor space.
Work is underway on the design and engineering, and the physical construction will start as soon as the design drawings are completed and approved by the customer.
The new Buquebus ship, Incat hull 096, is predicted to have a maximum speed of over 40 knots and will be powered by four dual-fuel engines that will burn LNG.
This follows in the footsteps of Francisco, the LNG dual-fuelled ferry launched in 2013, which Incat also built.
Incat Tasmania chairman Robert Clifford has previously talked to Passenger Ship Technology on using LNG within fast ferries. “LNG is here for the long term – it might not be the end of the story but it will be around for long time.” He said that while the weight of the gas tanks needed might be challenging for fast ferries, “we can live with the tanks”. And he added “The technology of the tanks is improving and they are lighter today than they were and we look for further improvement”.
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