Baleària assigns its first LNG ferry to Motril-Melilla route

Spanish ferry operator Baleària has selected its LNG-fueled ferry Hypatia De Alejandria to operate the route between the Spanish town of Motril and the Spanish autonomous city of Melilla in North Africa.

The 26,000 gross ton Hypatia de Alejandría is the first of the Baleària fleet to sail on LNG, reducing CO2 emissions by 30 per cent, and NOx emissions by 80 per cent.

The vessel started commercial ops in January 2019, after delivery from the Cantiere Navale Visentini shipyard in Venice.

To remind, Baleària already operated between Motril and Melilla with a  fast ferry  in the summer of 2016. It will now carry out three rotations a week between the two ports, in addition to the connections between the Autonomous City and Malaga and Almería.  

Baleària initially invested €200 million in the construction of Hypatia de Alejandría‘s and its sister vessel Marie Curie. Both vessels are 186.5 metres long with a maximum speed of 24 knots and a capacity for 810 people, 2,100 linear metres of cargo and 150 vehicles.