As a further step towards realising its goal of an eventual fleet-wide capability for LNG powering, Spanish operator Balearia has commissioned its second and largest high-speed ro-pax ferry employing a dual-fuel, four-stroke engine propulsion system.

Melding Australian prowess in catamaran technology with the construction, outfitting and project management skills of northern Spain’s maritime industrial cluster, the 123-metre Margarita Salas has doubled capacity and boosted efficiency on a service linking the mainland at Barcelona with the islands of Mallorca and Menorca.

The twin-hulled, multi-engine vessel represents a further progression on the innovation and sustainability encapsulated in her 2021-delivered counterpart, Eleanor Roosevelt, assigned to Balearia’s Denia/Palma di Mallorca/Ibiza run. Margarita Salas is a product emanating from the same contractual team, construction having been undertaken at the Gijon premises of Astilleros Armon to a design from Incat Crowther, and with architectural and interior work by Madrid-based Oliver Design.