Visit to Incat shipyard where the largest fully electric ferry to date is being built

On the last day of the Interferry conference in Tasmania we visited the Incat shipyard where the largest fully electric ferry to date is being built. The 130-metre CHINA ZORRILLA for Buquebus will serve a 1h 20min route between Argentina and Uruguay fully electric thanks to its massive 40 MWh battery pack, almost four times larger than any battery installation that has been constructed and installed anywhere in the world for the marine transport environment.

CHINA ZORRILLA will be delivered in 2025 and have a capacity for 2,100 passengers and 226 cars. It will also include a Duty-Free Shop of over 2,000 square metres.

At a speed of 25 knots the batteries are expected to last 1.5 hours, however CHINA ZORRILLA will likely operate a bit below that speed.

Incat and Wärtsilä recently also signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to extend their cooperation for more future electric ferries.

At the Shippax Ferry Conference next year between 13-15 May, Robert Clifford, founder and Chairman of the Incat group will provide an update and more details on this groundbreaking new fully electric ferry for Buquebus.

Text and photos © Shippax