Natural gas ferries for Spain

These new ships, will apparently be the first to run on natural gas in Spain, the biggest ever built in a Spanish shipyard and among the largest in Europe.

They will have dual fuel engines that will be capable to run on natural gas or diesel oil and therefore will allow the company to reduce more than 30% of CO2 emissions. The construction of the first unit will start in 2016 and should be in operation during the first quarter of 2018.

Iñaki Irasuegui, managing director, La Naval, said: “This agreement is a key milestone for La Naval, gaining a new strategic client like Baleària with which we want to establish a long term relationship, it consolidates our company’s strategy in the ferry market and, in general, in the design and construction of technologically advance and sophisticated ships.”

Adolfo Utor, Chairman of Baleària, said: “The investment in the construction of new ships is the way of growing and being more competitive.”

He added that these ferries will be technologically advanced and innovative units, based not only in the propulsion system but also incorporating systems onboard allowing them to be more eco-efficient, as well as provide a better service and comfort for our clients.

La Naval is a shipyard located in the Basque Country in Spain focused in the design and construction of sophisticated ships for the oil & gas, offshore wind, dredging and ferry markets.

In addition to the agreement with Baleària, La Naval´s order book includes one ferry for TESO, one cable layer for DEME/TIDEWAY and two hopper dredgers for Van Oord.

By Anne-Marie Causer