The Strait of Messina and the facing coastlines of Sicily and Calabria will over the next decade witness the introduction of new Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) by Messina-based private ferry operator Caronte & Tourist SpA (C&T).
Shipowner Lorenzo Matacena told participants at last week’s “Passengers Ships and the Environment” conference that C&T intends to invest EUR 200 million (USD 225m) to build 10 LNG ferries over the next 10 years.
Late last year, C&T ordered a hybrid gas-electric ferry (pictured above) dedicated to service routes between Sicily and the smaller islands, making it the first Italian marine company to opt for natural gas as a marine fuel. However, “Our hybrid construction ferry in the Turkish Sefine yard will be delivered by the end of 2018, but for the first year and a half will be powered by marine diesel because no structure for the supply of gas will be active by then in our country,” Matacena said at the conference.
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