China Zorrilla (ship)

China Zorrilla at the Incat shipyard in June 2025
History
Uruguay
NameChina Zorrilla
NamesakeChina Zorrilla
Owner2025–present: Buquebus
RouteBuenos Aires—Colonia del Sacramento (55-60 km)[1] in 90 minutes[2]
BuilderIncat, Hobart, Australia
Cost$200 million[3]
Yard number096
Launched2 May 2025
In serviceearly 2026 (scheduled)[3]
Home portMontevideo, Uruguay
IdentificationIMO number: 9916678
StatusUnder construction
General characteristics
Tonnage14,000 GT
Length130 m (430 ft)
Beam32 m (105 ft)
Propulsion40 MWh battery, 8×2.4 MW electric motors driving 8 Wärtsilä WXJ1100 Waterjets
Speed25 kn (46 km/h)[4]
Capacity225 cars and 2,100 passengers

China Zorrilla is a battery electric roll-on/roll-off catamaran ferry, scheduled to commence operation in 2026[5] by Buquebus across the Río de la Plata connecting Colonia del Sacramento, Uruguay and Buenos Aires, Argentina.[6]

Built in Hobart, Australia by Incat under the provisional name of Hull 096 and launched in May 2025 with a project cost of $200 million,[3] it is the largest fully electric ship, and largest battery electric vehicle of any kind, in the world.

It was named in honor of the Uruguayan grande dame and actress China Zorrilla (1922–2014), who developed her acting career in stage and screen in both Argentina and Uruguay, as a representative of rioplatense culture.[7]

History

Since the 1980s, Buquebus has operated several diesel ferries on its short 30 nmi (56 km; 35 mi) route between Buenos Aires and Colonia del Sacramento.[8]

Incat's existing relationship with Buquebus has involved construction and delivery of 8 other ships.[9] Incat delivered the liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered gas turbine catamaran high-speed craft ferry HSC Francisco to Buquebus in 2013, replacing the turbine & marine gasoil-powered Luciano Federico L, at their time the fastest turbine RO/RO ferry in the world at around 50 knots.[10][11]

In May 2019, Buquebus originally commissioned Incat to deliver the world's largest aluminium ship "Hull 096" designed to cruise at the relatively slower speed of 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph) on the 60 km route between Buenos Aires and Colonia del Sacramento.[12][13] The technology would be dual-fuel propulsion, capable of operating on liquefied natural gas and diesel, with around 400 tonne of Wärtsilä-31 diesel-type piston engines, 100 tonne gearboxes, 180 tonnes of cryogenic fuel tanks and 100 tonne fuel.[14][15] In order to keep operating weight low, Buquebus would refuel the ferry with LNG daily trucked from its LNG production facility south of Buenos Aires, as it does with HSC Francisco.[12][16] By 2020, all-electric propulsion for 096 was technically feasible if Buquebus could get port charging.[14]

However, the COVID-19 pandemic delayed construction, and by April 2021 metal had not been cut, but design work continued.[12]

While the ship structure was being built in January 2023, Buquebus and Incat renegotiated their agreement,[17] and revised the specification to change the ship to lower-weight full battery-electric (60 km at 24 knots), requiring structural changes in the ship.[18][19][20] The main ship structure was complete in June 2024, and Incat moved the ship to the outfit facility.[21] Incat installed around 150 battery units per day.[22]

The $170 million agreement was partly financed with $67 million from International Finance Corporation and $107 million from Banco Santander Uruguay.[23][6]

Float-out, float-on

After fitting-out and float-out, the ship was launched at Incat's facility on the River Derwent on 2 May 2025.[24][25][26] The ferry began charging the battery in October 2025,[27] powered up the battery, motors and waterjets in December 2025,[28] and began sea trials in the harbour at Incat in January 2026.[29][30] A speed of 29 knots was reached, with 600 tonnes of cargo onboard.[31]

The ferry is built for small river waves, not big ocean waves,[32] and it was scheduled to ride on a heavy-lift ship for a month for $6 million[33][34] from Tasmania over the Pacific Ocean to Uruguay in March 2026,[3][34] however that was postponed as the transport ship got stuck in the Persian Gulf during the 2026 Strait of Hormuz crisis, and heavy lifters are in high demand worldwide.[35] The replacement ship MV Black Marlin was underway from South Africa by early June 2026, refueling via Melbourne in late July.[32][36] During the days around 1 August 2026, the ferry was floated onto the heavy-lifter a mile west of Tranmere and secured for ocean conditions.[37][38]

Design

The aluminium vessel measures 130 metres (430 ft) in length and has 3 decks to carry up to 2,100 passengers and 225 vehicles; significantly bigger than the company's other ships. The lower deck is the vehicle deck. The middle deck is the duty free shop.[22] The upper deck has over two thousand seats.

Its propulsion system comprises eight 2.4 MW electric waterjets; two fixed and two steerable in each hull. They are powered by a 40 MWh Corvus Energy Dolphin lithium-ion battery system built in Norway,[19][31][39] weighing over 250 tonnes. This system, supplied by Finnish company Wärtsilä,[4] features the largest battery installed on a ship, enabling the ferry to operate entirely on electric power.[40] The battery system is arranged in 4 separate insulated rooms and has 12 battery arrays with 418 modules each, for a total of 5,016 battery units. Weight and temperature are critical aspects, so the modules are not rack mounted. Each module has a cooling fan and is contained from affecting other modules.[2][34][41] The electric DC system tolerates faults while keeping the ship operational.[42]

Incat states that the weight of the electric system is lighter than the equivalent diesel engines and associated LNG components,[34][43] and that ship weight&speed are important for energy consumption - a heavier steel ship would require more power, and thus more energy, and thus a bigger heavier battery.[22] Parts of the route is only 2.5 m (8.2 ft) shallow water, requiring low weight and smaller waterjets.[16]

The ferry is equipped with a 2,300 square meter duty-free shopping area, the largest retail space on any ferry globally.[44] The shopping is an important part of the ferry business, and requires lower speed to prolong passengers' spending during the crossing.[14] The lower speed decreases drag significantly and allows lower energy use and thus a smaller battery.[16][22]

The ferry has 6 escape chutes leading to 13 life rafts, with a combined capacity of 2,432 people.[45]

Operation

Buquebus ferry route (50-55 km in Rio de la Plata) between Colonia del Sacramento (Uruguay) and Buenos Aires (Argentina).

In Buenos Aires, the company terminal and port is at Dársena Norte harbour, between Retiro railway station, Puerto Madero neighborhood and Costanera Sur Ecological Reserve.

The ferry's travel plan is scheduled for two roundtrips per day, with charging between each of the 4 crossings.[3] The ferry recharges from 20% to 80% state of charge in 40—80 minutes at the company's charge point in each port.[31][46] The charge point uses 8kA AC / 16kA DC[47][34] in two 15 MW Wärtsilä chargers for $14 million.[6][22]

In Uruguay, the high power required a new cable for 20 million dollars, installed by UTE (grid company).[46] The electricity sector in Uruguay has 98% renewable power,[48] while the electricity sector in Argentina has 50% power from natural gas, 25% hydropower, 15% wind&solar, and 10% nuclear power.

References

  1. ↑ Otero, Alejandra (5 May 2025). "El ferry eléctrico más grande del mundo es el 'China Zorrilla': un gigante con baterías equivalentes a más de 800 coches eléctricos y que empezará a llevar pasajeros este mismo año". Motorpasión (in Spanish).
  2. 1 2 Bates Ramirez, Vanessa (6 November 2025). "Electric Boat's 5,016 Batteries Drive Maritime Shift - IEEE Spectrum". spectrum.ieee.org. IEEE Spectrum. Single cell isolation is a key safety element: "In case any cell goes into thermal runaway, it does not spread to the neighboring cells."
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Nuevo barco China Zorrilla de Buquebus estará operativo en enero - RO CONTENIDOS". www.ro.com.uy (in Spanish). 16 October 2025.
  4. 1 2 "What will power the world's largest zero-emissions, lightweight catamaran ferry?". Wärtsilä. Retrieved 10 June 2025.
  5. ↑ Marinero, Ismael (2025-11-23). "El megabarco eléctrico más grande del mundo: 130 metros y más de 5.000 baterías para transportar a 2.100 pasajeros". El Español (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-11-25.
  6. 1 2 3 "Buquebus, Banco Santander, and IFC sign financing for the world's largest electric ferry on the Argentina-Uruguay route". IFC. 26 July 2024. partial credit guarantee of USD 67 million. Buquebus will invest another USD 14 million in two charging stations and transmission infrastructure to provide electricity to the e-ferry
  7. ↑ "Saying goodbye to China Zorrilla". Buenos Aires Herald. 19 September 2014. Archived from the original on 10 November 2014. Retrieved 9 October 2016.
  8. ↑ "Viaja y disfrutá en los mejores buques del país | Buquebus". Archived from the original on 2016-03-10. Retrieved 2013-06-19.
  9. ↑ Báez, Lorena Zeballos (2025-10-14). "Instalan en Colonia los cargadores para el China Zorrilla, el ferry 100% eléctrico más grande del mundo". EL PAIS (in Spanish). Retrieved 2025-10-14.
  10. ↑ "The Fastest Ship on Earth Powered By Jet Engines". Gadgets. Archived from the original on 2014-07-13. Retrieved 2025-10-14.
  11. ↑ "Incat's Dual-Fuel Ferry 'Francisco' the Fastest in the World". offshore.energy.biz. 18 June 2013. Retrieved 5 June 2025.
  12. 1 2 3 Azevedo, Paulo (16 April 2021). "The dawn of alternative marine fuels in Latin America". Maritime South. Aluminium cutting was expected for late 2020. However, Incat commented "Covid-19 has interrupted many plans. We have not commenced cutting metal on the Buquebus ship but of course the design team is still working on it." The ferry will operate .. at lower speeds comparing to Francisco, and be equipped with internal combustion engines instead of turbines. the catamaran will be the world's largest aluminium ship and will use the same bunkering infrastructure already in place for its predecessor. Buquebus .. handles truck-to-ship bunkering in-house
  13. ↑ Blenkey, Nick (20 May 2019). "Incat gets order for world's largest aluminum hulled ship". Marine Log.
  14. 1 2 3 Moore, Rebecca (31 March 2020). "Incat reveals design and technology behind Buquebus' second LNG ferry". Riviera Maritime. Retrieved 5 June 2025. The slower speed will allow more time to shop. the route of the new ship includes a lot of shallow water with a draught of only 2.5 m . two LNG tanks to be used. The fuel tanks are very large and heavy – each one weighs 90 tonnes. The fuel itself is kept at -250°C and the tanks have to be insulated to keep it as a liquid. Buquebus' newbuild could have used batteries, if electric power had been available to the ferry operator
  15. ↑ Blenkey, Nick (31 August 2022). "World's largest aluminum cat will have Wärtsilä propulsion package". Marine Log. four Wärtsilä 31DF dual-fuel engines, four Wärtsilä WXJ1500SR waterjets, and two Wärtsilä LNGPac fuel storage
  16. 1 2 3 "Interview with Incat". Everything Electric. 6-9 mins (Bob Clifford)
  17. ↑ "Buquebus, Incat working to switch LNG-fueled ferry order to electric power". LNG Prime. 19 January 2023.
  18. ↑ Roberts, Peter (16 January 2023). "Incat sells first electric passenger and vehicle ferry". Australian Manufacturing Forum.
  19. 1 2 "World's largest battery electric vessel is set for 2025 delivery". MarineLog.com. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 5 June 2025. power conversion system, DC shore charging system, the 40 MWh Corvus battery modules, the DC hub, the eight electric motors, eight Wärtsilä axial flow WXJ1100 waterjets
  20. ↑ "Visit to Incat shipyard where the largest fully electric ferry to date is being built". Shippax. 14 November 2023. The 130-metre CHINA ZORRILLA for Buquebus will serve a 1h 20min route between Argentina and Uruguay fully electric thanks to its massive 40 MWh battery pack
  21. ↑ Azevedo, Paulo (5 June 2024). "Argentina and Uruguay to feature a zero-emission fast ferry crossing by early 2026". Maritime South. Rollback is the procedure to place the hull at the end of the construction hall, from where it will be subsequently launched. Moreover, the placement of the superstructures marks the end of the bulk of structural work and the beginning of final, shipboard outfitting
  22. 1 2 3 4 5 Delaney, Anne (26 May 2026). "From fast ferries to electric ships: How a Tasmanian company is helping reshape global shipping". Renew Economy. the entire middle level of the ferry to duty free shopping, 2300 square metres, making it the largest retail space in the world .. two 15 megawatt plugs in place, so they'll be charging at 30 megawatts at a time .. Speed is not the most economical way of travel. Coming down to 25 knots takes perhaps only a quarter the power that it takes to do 50 knots .. the key to making battery-electric ferries commercially viable, Clifford argues, is weight; if steel ships, which are much heavier vessels, were to go electric, they would need a massive amount of extra electricity. "If it's a third the weight, it's about a third the power required to move it, and that's so important with electricity
  23. ↑ "Disclosure Buquebus electric ferry". disclosures.ifc.org. International Finance Corporation. 30 May 2024.
  24. ↑ "World's largest '100 per cent electric' ship launched by Tasmanian builder Incat". ABC News. 2 May 2025. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
  25. ↑ Next generation green ferry Ships Monthly May 2025 page 8
  26. ↑ Incat Electric Ship Afloat issue 422 June 2025 page 32
  27. ↑ Carroll, David (21 October 2025). "Incat begins power-up of world's largest battery-electric ship". Energy Storage. one of the 130-meter vessel's four battery rooms now receiving electrical charge
  28. ↑ Hill, Joshua S. (15 December 2025). ""Remarkable:" World's largest battery-electric ship powers up for first time in Australia". The Driven.
  29. ↑ McKay, Crystal (16 January 2026). "'Relief' as world's biggest electric ferry starts sea trials". ABC News. ABC News.
  30. ↑ "M015-26 - Port of Hobart, Storm Bay, Frederick Henry Bay – INCAT sea trials". Marine and Safety Tasmania. 16 January 2026.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  31. 1 2 3 Baird, Dr Neil (9 March 2026). "VESSEL REVIEW | China Zorrilla – Uruguay's Buquebus to operate world's largest fully electric ferry". Baird Maritime / Work Boat World.
  32. 1 2 "Enormous ship en route to pick up world's largest electric ferry". ABC News. 2 June 2026. There are probably half a dozen of them that are suitable around the world, but it's a matter of getting one at the right time. The ship, when it's partly sunk, will actually be drawing about 23 metres. It's constructed to run on a relatively calm river, so the vessel's not been constructed for heavy sea operation
  33. ↑ "El ferry de los US$200 millones: el barco 100% eléctrico más grande del mundo conectará Buenos Aires con Colonia". Forbes Argentina (in Spanish). 13 March 2026.
  34. 1 2 3 4 5 "Building the world's largest electric ferry (text)". ABC News (Australia). 21 February 2025. Retrieved 13 May 2025. Ironically, compared to a traditional diesel engine with fuel tanks, it's slightly lighter. We're actually saving weight. the modules actually go together. It will have to hitch a ride on a heavy lift ship
  35. ↑ "Electric ferry needs a lift as transport ship stuck in Strait of Hormuz". ABC News. 28 April 2026.
  36. ↑ "Incat reels in Marlin". Daily Cargo News. 23 July 2026.
  37. ↑ "M264-26 Port of Hobart – Semi-Submersible Ship Loading - Prohibited Area". Marine and Safety Tasmania. 23 July 2026.
  38. ↑ "Slow-motion big ship lift operation thrills spectators in Hobart (video)". ABC News. 31 July 2026.
  39. ↑ "The Switch to supply DC-Hub and unique protection devices for world's largest marine battery system". Shippax. semiconductor-based device disconnects any failing drive module within 10 microseconds from the common DC link
  40. ↑ "'World's largest' electric ship measuring 130 metres launched by Tasmanian boatbuilder". The Guardian. 2 May 2025.
  41. ↑ "Stepping inside one of the battery rooms of the China Zorrilla". The Driven. 26 May 2026.
  42. ↑ Ross, Matt (3 June 2026). "OPINION: What the world's largest electric ferry teaches us about megawatt scaling". Advanced Maritime Technology International. isolate faults at lightning speed, preventing cascading failures and enabling ride-through capability: if a fault occurs in one part of the system, the vessel continues operating
  43. ↑ Davis, Jess (20 February 2025). "Building the world's biggest electric ferry (video)". ABC News (Australia).
  44. ↑ "Incat completes hull of huge electric vessel". Australian Manufacturing Forum. 24 September 2024. Retrieved 13 May 2025.
  45. ↑ Patrascu, Daniel (16 February 2026). "This Is How People Will Escape the World's Largest Electric Vehicle If It Ever Sinks". autoevolution.
  46. 1 2 "Comenzaron en el Puerto de Colonia las obras para instalar los cargadores que alimentarán al "China Zorrilla"". Colonia Multimedia (in Spanish). 15 October 2025.
  47. ↑ "Zinus to power groundbreaking fully electric Ferry". Shippax. 21 December 2023.
  48. ↑ Machado, Alicia (5 August 2025). "Uruguay Energy". International Trade Administration. Today, over 98 percent of Uruguay's electricity is generated from hydro, wind, solar, and biomass

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