Baleària buys three more

Written by Nick Blenkey
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Nápoles

FEBRUARY 15, 2018 — Spanish ferry operator Baleària has invested neary EUR 75 million (about $94 million) to purchase three existing ships to reinforce its fleet.

The vessels are the ferries Nápoles and Sicilia, bought from Stena, and the fast ferry Jonathan Swift, bought from Irish Ferries. Following these two transactions, Baleària now owns a total of 24 out of the 25 vessels that it operates.

The ferries Nápoles and Sicilia, which are sister ships, were chartered in 2015 by the company and are being used for the València-Eivissa-Palma and Barcelona-Eivissa routes, respectively.

Each measuring 186 meters long, the vessels have a service speed of 23 knots and were delivered by Italian shipbuilder Cantieri Navale Visentini in 2002. They each have a capacity for 950 passenger and 2,000 linear meters of cargo and can sail at a speed of 23 knots.

The passenger services and features available on the Nápoles and the Sicilia are some of the most highly-rated ships by customers in Baleària’s most recent satisfaction surveys, scoring 8.3 out of 10.

The Jonathan Swift is an 86 m high speed catamaran delivered by Austal in 1999. With a speed of 38 knots, it can carry 800 passengers and 200 vehicles and, had been operating in the Irish Sea connecting Dublin and Holyhead..

Baleària, which is in the middle of a fleet renewal process, has two LNG fueled ferries on order at Cantiere Navale Visentini and has ordered four eco-fast ferries on order at Spain’s Gondan shipyard, the first of which began operating last December.

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