The Cantabrian tides marked the launching of the Margarita Salas this Thursday. The second high-speed catamaran of the Baleària shipping company, equipped with dual gas engines, touched the waters of Gijón a few minutes before four in the afternoon. It was during a delicate process in which the ship was slowly lowered from the slipway where it was built to later be towed to the weapons dock. There, now afloat, the work on board the ship will be completed, both in its garage-holds and in the engines, passenger and crew areas.
It is the second time that this maritime company has launched a ferry in the shipyards that Armón has in the most populated city in Asturias. On the previous occasion, on September 18, 2020, the premiere ship was the Eleanor Roosevelt, which at that time was the first fast ferry in the world powered by natural gas internal combustion engines.
The cost of this new high-speed catamaran has been 126 million euros and its financing has included the participation of the Next Generation Funds of the European Union, within the Recovery and Resilience Mechanism. One of the protagonists of the launching was Adolfo Utor, founder, owner and president of the company based in Dénia. “We already had an excellent ship in terms of navigability, comfort and passenger satisfaction, and we cannot be more than proud to have taken another step with the Margarita Salas, which will surely obtain even better results,” said Utor. “We are adding another ship to our fleet that pays tribute to a pioneering woman in science, in this case an exceptional person and a reference figure, who focused her research on molecular biology,” he clarified about the name of the Asturian and Nobel Prize disciple. Severo Ochoa, chosen for the new ship.
With the Margarita Salas there are now eleven of the company’s ships equipped with dual gas engines. “These ships, which currently navigate using natural gas, will in the future be able to consume renewable energy that is neutral in CO? emissions. The investment of more than 500 million euros in this fleet allows us to use the fuel available today, which reduces more emissions and positions us for decarbonization in the future,” indicated the executive president of Baleària.
The length of the catamaran is 123 meters and its beam (width) is 28 meters, identical measurements to the Eleanor Roosevelt, although with 10% more power thanks to the four dual 9,600 kW natural gas engines. Like its predecessor, the ship is equipped with two azimuthal propellers. These significantly improve maneuverability when docking. It has been equipped with a stabilization system that reduces movement, improves comfort and high-tech innovations have been added that minimize vibrations and noise.
Taking into account the future electrification of the docks, the catamaran will be plug-in, as it has the Onshore Power Supply (OPS) system for electrical connection to land during its stays in port. On board it has two tanks of liquefied natural gas, which provide a range of approximately 470 miles sailing on gas, and a total range of 1,000 miles on fuel.
Having the same dimensions as the previous ship launched in Gijón, it has the same capacity: a maximum of 1,200 passengers and 400 vehicles, although by having a new bridge between the main passenger cabin and the command cabin, this intermediate will make it gain greater spaciousness with a more comfortable VIP lounge and a larger aft terrace.
The Margarita Salas will enter service next summer and although the line it will operate is not defined, it will possibly be one of the Baleària ships that will connect Barcelona with the Balearic Islands starting in 2024, sailing at a speed of 35 knots, about 65 kilometers per hour.
