Spain’s Balearia begins LNG retrofit work on first ferry

Spanish shipping company Baleària said on Monday it started retrofitting works on its ferry Nápoles, the first of Baleària’s six vessels that will be converted to run on liquefied natural gas (LNG).

The ferry arrived at the at the Gibraltar Gibdock shipyard on Sunday where the yard will modify the vessel’s engines and install an LNG tank.

The works are expected to be completed by February 15 next year, according to Baleària.

MAN PrimeServ, the after-sales division of MAN Energy Solutions, has previously won the contract to convert the RoPax ferries Nápoles and  Sicilia to dual-fuel operation.

The two vessels are currently each powered by two MAN main engines.

Finland’s Wartsila will provide an LNG tank with a capacity of 440 cubic meters to be installed onboard the Nápoles.

The total investment in this retrofit is 12 million euros with 20 percent funded by European Union Connecting Europe Facility (CEF).