The world's first fast ferry for passengers and cargo powered by natural gas internal combustion engines, the Eleanor Roosevelt of Baleària, was launched yesterday at the Armon de Gijón shipyards. This innovative ship is scheduled to start operating in the first quarter of 2021. It is a pioneering ship worldwide that has had the participation of leading international companies and has involved an investment of 90 million euros.
"The Eleanor Roosevelt is supposed to Baleària the culmination of the effort of all the teams to have the first catamaran powered by gas engines, a milestone of sustainability and innovation ”, he pointed out Adolfo Utor, President of the company. Utor also highlighted that the ship "has incorporated new features to adapt to the current context of health crisis, taking into account the distance between seats, wider aisles and digitization, to ensure greater safety". For his part, the president of Armon, Laudelino Alperi, highlighted that the construction of the fast ferry "It means a historic milestone for the shipyard" and has thanked Baleària "The trust placed in order to participate in this innovative and pioneering project worldwide".
Digitization of services and comfort on board
Technological innovations have been incorporated to turn it into a smart ship: passengers will be able to access by means of a QR code that they will receive via WhatsApp, with the indication of the assigned seat number; During the entire journey they will have Internet service and WhatsApp coverage for text messages and they will be able to enjoy a free digital entertainment platform from their mobile devices, as well as see their pets through webcams installed in the cages. In the design of the interiors, the amplitude of the spaces and the separation between seats have prevailed. On-board comfort has also been improved by incorporating a state-of-the-art stabilization system, which will considerably reduce movement. Vibrations and noise will be minimized to levels thanks to an elastically floating superstructure and the installation of high-tech insulation. The ship will also have an escalator and elevator to the upper deck, unprecedented elements in a ship of this type.
The Eleanor Roosevelt will also be the world's longest fast ferry. Specifically, the ship is 123 meters long and 28 wide, with a capacity for 1.200 passengers and a warehouse for 500 linear meters of trucks and 250 cars, or alternatively 450 cars.
Real-time vessel monitoring
Baleària has installed measuring equipment in the Eleanor Roosevelt that will make it possible to monitor the actual fuel consumption or calculate the efficiency of the engines. The installation of sensors will also provide real-time information to be able to navigate efficiently, as well as adjust speed and heading to increase comfort according to the state of the sea. This is the third ship of the shipping company that has this monitoring system, and that is part of the Baleària control tower project, which will use big data to make agile and efficient decisions in the areas of safety, preventive maintenance, efficiency commercial and emissions.
Power and speed efficiently
The four dual GN / GO engines from Wärtsilä, with a power of 8.800 kW each, of the Baleària Eleanor Roosevelt allow it to reach a service speed of 35 knots (with a maximum speed of more than 40 knots). The two tanks to store LNG suppose an autonomy of 400 nautical miles in gas navigation (1.900 in the case of combined gas / diesel).
Tribute to Eleanor Roosevelt
The name of Baleària's new ship, Eleanor Roosevelt, is a tribute to this writer, gender equality activist and advocate for the civil rights of African and Asian Americans and refugees from World War II. Roosevelt stood out for being the first president of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights and one of the promoters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. This is the sixth ship of the shipping company that pays tribute to pioneering women in their respective disciplines, in accordance with their commitment to one of the sustainable development goals: equality and the empowerment of women.
International project
Construction of this eco-efficient fast ferry began in December 2018 at the Armon shipyards in Gijón, which has coordinated the project and carried out the systems engineering, with the support of Cotenaval, a Valencian engineering company. The Australian Incat Crowther has been in charge of the design; the engines, propulsion system and gas plant have been manufactured by the Finnish company Wärtsilä, while the canal tests were carried out by the Norwegian company Marintek-Sintef, and Bureau Veritas is the classification society. The architectural and interior design is the work of the company Oliver Design and the interior designer Jorge Belloch.
Pioneers in natural gas
Baleària's fleet strategy involves investing 380 million euros in 9 ships that can sail on gas. The use of this fuel implies a considerable reduction in emissions (with an immediate improvement in air quality and the greenhouse effect) and noise pollution. Specifically, CO30 emissions are reduced by 2%, NOx emissions by 85%, and sulfur and particulate matter are eliminated.
