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Spain-UK gas ferry marks 'new era of green travel'

Alex Dunham
Alex Dunham - [email protected] • 15 Jan, 2014 Updated Wed 15 Jan 2014 13:51 CEST
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Brittany Ferries have announced the order of a €271 million ($369 million) cruise-ferry that will offer a cleaner and more environmentally friendly option than any other vessel linking Spain and the UK.

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The gas-powered vessel, to be launched in 2017, will link the southern English city of Portsmouth with Santander in northern Spain.

French company Brittany Ferries have decided to invest in the ‘green’ ship due to new EU regulations which limit high sulphur emissions produced by older ferries that use heavy fuel oil.

Despite the company’s heavy financial losses in recent years and the high construction costs of the vessel,  Brittany Ferries expects their investment to pay off in the long run thanks to liquefied natural gas’s cheaper running prices.

The added advantage is that compressed natural gas emits 25 percent less carbon dioxide than marine fuel oil and burns with no smoke.

Brittany Ferries’ commercial director Mike Bevens told the BBC their gas-powered ship would mark "a new era" in ferry travel.

The French-built ferry will have 675 cabins for 2,500 passengers and garage capacity for 800 cars.

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Alex Dunham 2014/01/15 13:51

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