Third LNG fast ferry for Baleària to launch in September

Baleària’s latest LNG-fuelled catamaran is in an advanced stage of construction at the Armon Shipyards in Gijón and its launch is scheduled for September 2025.

Mercedes Pinto will join Balearia’s other LNG-powered high-speed vessels Eleanor Roosevelt (2021) and Margarita Salas (2023), maintaining similar characteristics to its twins: 123 m in length, 28 m in beam and a capacity to transport 1,200 passengers and 425 vehicles. Likewise, Mercedes Pinto will integrate the improved services featured on Margarita Salas, with a second deck with a seating lounge in the bow and a terrace aft with a bar outside.

Mercedes Pinto will be Baleària’s 12th ship with dual natural gas engines, which is also prepared to consume 100% biomethane and green hydrogen mixtures of up to 25%.

The natural gas fast ferry has been named Mercedes Pinto, in recognition of the 20th-century writer and poet from Tenerife.

"Naming this innovative catamaran after Mercedes Pinto is a way of honouring a woman ahead of her time, who with her vocation, marked an era in the progress of social rights from literature and poetry, among other areas. Mercedes Pinto’s legacy reflects Baleària’s values and our commitment to the Canary Islands and its socio-cultural heritage," said president of the shipping company, Adolfo Utor.

It was announced last week that DFDS and Baleària are acquiring vessels, terminals, routes and employees from Naviera Armas Trasmediterránea, which operates ferries in the Canary Islands, Alboran Sea and Strait of Gibraltar.