Company orders giant LNG fuelled ‘smart ferry’

TIN news:    Baleària, the ferry company head quartered at Denia, Spain, plans to build a  LNG fuelled “smart ship” at Spain’s LaNaval shipyard. The ferry, with a capacity for 1,600 passengers plus 340 vehicles, will be the largest operating in the Mediterranean and among the largest in the world and is scheduled to start operations in 2019. 
Baleària decided to use liquefied natural gas and solar power as energy sources to “reinforce the idea of ​​the pleasure of travelling compatible with the respect for the environment,” said Baleària Chairman Adolfo Utor.
“The signing of the contract, after months of working together, confirms our strategy of working closely with our customers from the earliest conceptual stages, it’s a milestone that consolidates LaNaval’s positioning in the passenger ship market and, in general, in the design and construction of ships with high technological content,” said Jose Ignacio Irasuegui, Managing Director of LaNaval.
”We are convinced that this agreement will be the start of a long-term relationship between LaNaval and Baleària, one of Europe’s largest shipping companies in the field of freight and passenger transport. ”
The ship will reach a speed of 23 knots and will have three dual fuel engines, which can be used either with natural gas or liquid fuel, allowing the company to reduce CO2 and NOx emissions by more than 40% and avoid emissions of sulphur and other particular matters.
Baleària says the ferry will be a “smart ship, where customers, with their smartphones or mobile devices, can access the accommodation, have tracking systems, access to a wide audiovisual technology in entertainment and cuisine on board, information and booking destinations , data navigation, meteorology, and the “endless possibilities that the option to interact with the system and to intercom with the rest of the passengers adds.”
The ferry will have many open interior and exterior public spaces, incorporating the latest innovations in the cruise market. Services for passengers including two restaurants, four bars (one outside), a playground, two multi-purpose theatres, one outside and one inside, two pools and two hot tubs, gym, hairdresser and lounge, library and cinema.
The ship will have a capacity of 3,300 lane meters for trucks. During the loading and unloading operations, the vessel will have an automatic anti-heeling system.