The world’s largest battery-electric ship, built in Hobart by Incat Tasmania, has started carrying passengers between Argentina and Uruguay.
The 130-metre China Zorrilla, built for long-standing Incat customer Buquebus, has completed its first commercial voyage across the River Plate between Buenos Aires and Colonia.
It follows an official launch ceremony in Buenos Aires on October 21, attended by Incat managing director Craig Clifford, Buquebus representatives and maritime authorities from both countries.
The vessel, known during construction as Hull 096, can carry up to 2,100 passengers and 225 vehicles.
More than 250 tonnes of batteries, with an energy storage system of more than 40 megawatt-hours, power its eight electrically driven waterjets.
Passengers also have access to a duty-free retail area of around 2,300 square metres.
Incat chairman Robert Clifford said the ship’s entry into service was one of the proudest moments in the company’s history.
“This is a truly historic day for Incat, for Tasmania and for the global maritime industry,” he said.
“For years, hundreds of talented people at our Hobart shipyard have worked tirelessly to bring this extraordinary vessel to life.”
He said the vessel showed the move to large-scale electric shipping was no longer just a vision for the future.
“This ship proves that large, high-capacity commercial vessels can operate on electric power and that passengers can enjoy a completely different experience in the process, without the traditional diesel-engine noise, vibration or exhaust emissions.”
Craig Clifford, who was on board for the first commercial voyage, said the passenger experience stood out.
“When you’re aboard a vessel of this size, you naturally expect to hear and feel the machinery working beneath you,” he said.
“On Hull 096, that familiar engine noise and vibration simply aren’t there.”
In July, the ship was loaded onto the heavy-lift vessel Black Marlin on the River Derwent for the trip to South America.
Incat is also building three 129-metre battery-electric ferries for Danish operator Molslinjen and two 78-metre hybrid-electric vessels at its Hobart shipyard.
