Incat Tasmania Exports 111m Ferry to Spain

Incat Tasmania’s newest 111-meter ferry has been handed over to her new Spanish operator Naviera Armas and departed Hobart late last night (16 July) for Spain.

The ship, named Volcan de Tagoro (Incat Hull 091) is impressive in her distinctive red Naviera Armas livery. 091 completed sea trials over the past few days, loaded fuel and supplies yesterday for the delivery voyage to Spain, and has now left Australia.

The delivery will be via Auckland, across the Pacific Ocean to Tahiti and the Panama Canal before crossing the Atlantic on her way to Spain. The Volcan de Tagoro crew arrived in Tasmania late June to familiarize themselves with the ship and participate in the sea trials.

Naviera Armas SA will operate the vessel on Spanish routes, including the Canary Islands. The company has an extensive fleet of vessels, and Volcan de Tagoro will be the fifth Incat vessel operating in the Armas fleet, however it is their first newbuild from Incat Tasmania, having obtained their other Incat built vessels on the second-hand market.

Volcan de Tagoro has capacity for 1200 persons, including crew, and the expansive vehicle deck allows for almost 600 TLM (595 truck lane meters) plus 219 cars, or in car-only mode it can accommodate 401 cars. Passenger spaces are divided into three classes, First Class, Business Class and Economy, each area offering bars and food service areas. A gift shop and children’s play are are also located on board.

The ship is powered by four MAN 20V diesel engines driving Wartsila waterjets. 091 achieved over 42 knots with 600 tonnes deadweight during speed trials, easily achieving her contract speed and the loaded service speed required for the Spanish routes.

Incat’s Prince of Wales Bay shipyard is continuing construction of three large vessels plus a 35‑meter commuter ferry the Geelong Flyer which will operate between Geelong and Docklands in Melbourne from early December.

The next export vessel is a 100-meter ship for Trinidad and Tobago to be completed in 2020, followed by another 111-meter ship for a European operator in 2021, the design team at Incat and Revolution Design are also hard at work on the design drawings for a 130‑meter catamaran for service between Argentina and Uruguay, that will be the largest ship Incat has contracted.