Britanny Ferries test for LNG docking at Port of Bilbao

French ferry company Britanny Ferries has taken tests necessary for the arrival of the Salamanca LNG-fueled ship in 2022 at the Spanish Port of Bilbao.

The new ferry Salamanca is a sister ship to Galicia, announced as the most modern ship of the French company. Chartered by Brittany Ferries from Sweden’s Stena RoRo, the ship was launched in January this year.

It will serve long-distance routes between Spain and the United Kingdom and will be a more efficient and ecological ship, as it will sail with LNG fuel, saving an estimated 46 per cent of CO2 per passenger.

To prepare for its arrival, the Bilbao Port Authority is carrying out refurbishment works on the berth, with Spanish energy company Repsol building a gas station to supply LNG. Brittany Ferries is taking the last technical tests with Galicia to prepare for the arrival of Salamanca.

Salamanca will be the first Brittany Ferries’ gas ship to operate in the Port of Bilbao. In 2023, it is to be joined by Santoña.

215 metres long, it will have a capacity of 42,000 tonnes and will be one of the largest vessels that the company has ever served. It will be able to carry up to 1,015 passengers and transport up to 2,714 linear metres of passenger vehicles and trucks.

Salamanca represents significant savings in fuel consumption and emissions, promising a 10 per cent improvement in passenger capacity and a 28 per cent increase in cargo space.

Galicia, Salamanca and Santoña are three ships in the E-Flexer class of nine ordered by Stena RoRo from the Chinese shipyard CMI Jinling (Weihai).