The battery-electric ferry Hull 096 has arrived in Uruguay after travelling thousands of kilometres from Hobart, marking the next stage of a multi-year construction and delivery project by Tasmanian shipbuilder Incat.
The vessel was carried aboard the heavy-lift transport ship MV Black Marlin and unloaded over the weekend into South American waters. It was formally welcomed at a ceremony in Nueva Palmira before being connected to tugboats for the journey to Colonia del Sacramento.
According to ABC News Australia, Buquebus will begin commissioning the ferry in Colonia. That phase will involve testing its systems before the vessel enters service on a roughly one-hour, 30-nautical-mile route across the Rio de la Plata between Colonia and Buenos Aires.
Hull 096 can carry up to 2,100 passengers and 225 vehicles. Incat says it is powered by more than 5,000 battery modules, giving it an operating range of about 90 minutes. The 130-metre ship is made from aluminium, which the company describes as lighter and more energy-efficient than traditional steel construction.
The ferry left Tasmania in early August after a complex operation to load it onto the Black Marlin on the River Derwent. Its voyage took it past northern New Zealand, across the Pacific and around Cape Horn. Incat called the arrival a significant milestone, saying hundreds of Tasmanian shipbuilders had contributed to the project.
The vessel was initially commissioned by Buquebus in 2019. Production was paused during the pandemic, and the design was subsequently changed from diesel propulsion to a fully electric system. It will operate under the name China Zorrilla, after the Uruguayan film and theatre star who died in 2014.
Incat says the ferry’s low-emission design has attracted interest elsewhere. Danish operator Molslinjen has ordered three vessels being built in Hobart for a European ferry corridor; those ships are expected to be the largest electric ferries in Europe.