A new pair of primarily LNG fuelled ro-pax ferries will be built in China to sail between Corsica and Sardinia for operator La Méridionale.
The new pair will bring the company’s total of vessels to five, with its three existing vessels serving the Corsican ports of Bastia, Ajaccio and Propriano. They deliver passengers and goods to Porto Torres in Sardinia, the second largest island in the Mediterranean after Sicily.
La Méridionale ro-pax ferry
Finnish naval architect Deltamarin has won the contract to design the vessels, which are expected to be delivered in early 2027 from the Chinese Jinling Weihai shipyard, with whom Deltamarin has a fairly long vessel build partnership.
Deltamarin says the engines include multi-fuel capabilities that will be able to run on future fuels such as bio gas and synthetic methane.
Deltamarin is keen to promote the vessels’ 13MWh hour battery packs, which means they can operate in port with zero emissions. This, Deltamarin says, is especially useful in Corsica because of the limited availability of shore power there.
Deltamarin and Weihai shipyard have a long history of collaboration and experience in working together, showcased in prior projects such as the Superstar ro-pax project for Finnlines, E-Flexer ro-pax vessels for Swedish Stena Line and the Rosa dei Venti ro-ro vessel for Italian Giovanni Visentini Trasporti Fluviomarittimi.
