Spanish ferry operator Baleària will operate the first fully electric ferry line between Tarifa, Spain, and Tangier, Morocco. Over the next two years, electric catamarans will be built at the Armon shipyard in Gijón and put into operation on the intercontinental route.
The shipbuilder Astilleros Armon will build the two 87-metre vessels designed by Incat Crowther in Gijón. The ferries will be capable of maximum speeds of 26 knots, and each ferry will have spatial capacity for 800 passengers and 225 cars.
Each electric ferry will have 16 MW of electric power from four electric propulsion units. The electric ferries will still hold combustion systems for emergency backup. The two electric marine vessels’ 11,500 kWh capacity will allow them to make the entire voyage between Morocco and Spain (18 miles, approx 29 kilometres) without emissions.
Baleària was awarded the route last December by the Algeciras Bay Port Authority (APBA) to operate the Tarifa-Tangier Ville line for the next 15 years. The port authority prioritized sustainable technology when awarding the line.
Adolfo Utor, Baleària’s President and Owner, said, “This is a pioneering and technologically advanced public-private project that will enable us, for the first time ever, to run the entire route using only electric energy and, therefore, zero emissions.” He added further that the port authority had laid the foundations of the project.
Once put into operation, the electric ferries will be charged at their one-hour stopovers at both ports. The charging systems at each port are to be backed by 5 MW battery systems in Tarifa and 8 MW in Tangier. The charging at each port will involve autonomous robotic arms that are connected to the ferries through their onshore power system connections (OPS). Utor explained that this system will allow the vessels to recharge in just 40 minutes.
The docks’ electrification will involve an investment of €62 million in OPS projects in Tarifa and Algeciras. Gerardo Landaluce, President of the Algeciras Bay Port Authority, also said that improvements will be made to the land access to the Port of Tarifa.
In total, the battery systems employed in both the vessels and their onshore charging systems will add up to 39 MWh gross, equivalent to 765 electric cars. Andalusia’s Minister of Tourism and External Affairs, Arturo Bernal, praised Baleària and the port authority’s commitment to pioneering a route that expects some four million passengers.
The project is a pioneer involving private and state investment. Baleària president Utor said that it was a very deliberate goal to“turn the Tarifa-Tangier Ville route into a talent-attraction pole, a focus of development opportunities and a catalyst for the local economy and employment.”
Morocco is rapidly becoming a new hub for electric transport. In 2024, BTR announced its plans to produce battery anode materials in Morocco, and the year before, the government announced its plans to install 2,500 charging points by 2026. According to CleanTechnica, Morocco has made the equivalent of 10 billion USD in electric vehicle investments.
