Americas News
LNG-Powered Fast Ferry Wins Award
The developers of the world's fastest ferry, the liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fuelled Francisco, won the new Black Diamond award at World LNG Fuels 2014, held last month, the companies said in a press release.
The winners include Buquebus, the Argentinian transportation company that owns and operates the ferry, Tasmania's Incat, which built it, and three companies that provided ship systems: GE, Chart Industries, and Galileo.
"Regulations on pollution will continue to tighten, which supports the use of more LNG," Horacio José Martire, chief legal officer for Buquebus, told the conference.
"LNG not only allows the Francisco to travel faster but operate more cleanly."
The Francisco was chosen, from a field of finalists that also included LNG-fuelled truck, rail, mining, and oilfield projects, based on technological innovation, market impact, project execution, and risk overcome.
The catamaran ferry can transport up to 1,000 passengers and 150 cars, and, while it generally sales between 50 and 53 knots, it set a world speed record of 58.1 knots in August.
Francisco uses about 66 tonnes of fuel per day, with the LNG bunkers provided from a "nano-station" operated by Buquebus.
