China Zorrilla (ship)
High speed catamaran
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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]
China Zorrilla at the Incat shipyard in June 2025 | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 Uruguay | |
| Name | China Zorrilla |
| Namesake | China Zorrilla |
| Owner | 2025–present: Buquebus |
| Route | Buenos Aires—Colonia del Sacramento (55-60 km)[1] in 90 minutes[2] |
| Builder | Incat, Hobart, Australia |
| Cost | $200 million[3] |
| Yard number | 096 |
| Launched | 2 May 2025 |
| In service | early 2026 (scheduled)[3] |
| Home port | Montevideo, Uruguay |
| Identification | IMO number: 9916678 |
| Status | Under construction |
| General characteristics | |
| Tonnage | 14,000 GT |
| Length | 130 m (430 ft) |
| Beam | 32 m (105 ft) |
| Propulsion | 40 MWh battery, 8×2.4 MW electric motors driving 8 Wärtsilä WXJ1100 Waterjets |
| Speed | 25 kn (46 km/h)[4] |
| Capacity | 225 cars and 2,100 passengers |
Built in Hobart, Australia by Incat under the provisional name of Hull 096 and launched in May 2025 with a 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 a new ship "Hull 096" designed to cruise at 20 kn (37 km/h; 23 mph) on the 60 km route between Buenos Aires and Colonia del Sacramento. 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.[12][13][14] In order to keep operating weight low, Buquebus would refuel the ferry with LNG daily from its LNG production facility south of Buenos Aires, as it does with HSC Francisco.[15][16] By 2020, all-electric propulsion for 096 was technically feasible if Buquebus could get port charging.[13]
However, the COVID-19 pandemic delayed construction, and by April 2021 metal had not been cut, but design work continued.[15]
While the ship structure was being built in January 2023, Buquebus and Incat renegotiated their agreement,[17] and revised the specification to make the ship fully 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.[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 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 is important for energy consumption - a heavier steel ship would require more power.[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.[13] 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
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 25% hydropower, 15% wind&solar, and 10% nuclear power.
