zoomThe converted Nápoles alongside at Gibdock before reentering service with Baleària. Image Courtesy: Gibdock

Baleària’s ferry Napoles has started operating using LNG as fuel following the completion of a major conversion project carried out by Gibraltar’s Gibdock shipyard.

The 186-meter long Napoles, which has a capacity for 1,600 passengers and 1,430 lane meters of cargo, is the first of six ships that Baleària plans to convert to dual fuel operations to comply with International Maritime Organization (IMO) sulphur cap regulations.

Gibdock has secured a contract to convert a second vessel, Sicilia, which is due to arrive at the yard later this year.

Napoles arrived at Gibdock in mid-November 2018, with the yard already having pre-fabricated two LNG bunker fuel reception stations for later installation. The majority of subsequent work took place alongside the yard’s main repair wharf, with some elements of the LNG conversion undertaken in Gibdock’s Panamax size Dock No.1.

The project included the installation of dual-fuel LNG and diesel engines produced by MAN Energy Solutions as well as a Wärtsilä tank for LNG storage.

According to Gibdock, one of the key elements of the project was the modification of the MAN 9L 48/60-A main engines to 9L 51/60DFF, completed by MAN Primeserv. Extensive automation system and cabling work was also carried out by Gibdock.

With this change in fuel, Nápoles is expected to reduce its CO2 emissions by 9,113.45 tons and NOx emissions by 871.37 tons a year as well as fully eliminate all sulphur and particle emissions, the ferry company earlier explained.

After its departure, Napoles began working on a new passenger and Spanish freight route connecting Huelva and the Canary Islands.