World's largest battery-electric ferry arrives in South America for commissioning

In short:

The world’s largest battery-electric ship has arrived in South America after journeying thousands of kilometres from Hobart.

It was carried by the transport ship Black Marlin and offloaded over the weekend into South American waters for the first time.

What's next?

Hull 096 is now in the process of being towed by tugboats to Colonia, where her owner, Buquebus, will begin the commissioning phase.

The world's largest battery-electric vehicle, the Incat-built Hull 096 ferry, is being towed to the Uruguayan port city of Colonia del Sacramento, following its arrival in South America from Hobart last Friday.

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The vessel left Tasmania in early August after a multi-day operation on Hobart's River Derwent to load it onto the enormous heavy-lift transporter ship MV Black Marlin.

The operation was considered one of the most complex marine undertakings in Tasmania's history.

Its arrival has been hailed by the Tasmanian shipbuilder as a "significant milestone".

The journey took it past the northern tip of New Zealand, across the Pacific Ocean and round South America's Cape Horn.

Hull 096 was built for South American transport company Buquebus to service a roughly hour-long, 30 nautical mile route along the Rio de la Plata between Colonia del Sacramento and the Argentinian capital Buenos Aires.

The ferry has a capacity of up to 2,100 passengers and 225 vehicles and will operate as China Zorrilla, named after a Uruguayan film and theatre star who died in 2014.

After reaching South America on Friday, the ferry was officially welcomed at a ceremony in Nueva Palmira, Uruguay.

It was then floated off the MV Black Marlin over the weekend.

The ferry will be towed to Colonia del Plata, where it will begin the commissioning phase, which will involve Buquebus testing it's systems ahead of it entering service.

It was first commissioned by Buquebus in 2019, however, a pause in production due to the pandemic led to a redesign of the ship from diesel to fully electric.

The ship was first launched in the River Derwent in May 2025.

The 130-metre-long vessel is powered by more than 5,000 battery modules that allow it to run for about 90 minutes, and is built from aluminium — a lighter and more energy-efficient material than traditional steel-hulled vessels.

Hull 096's high-speed, low-emission design has also attracted interest from other international transport companies.

Danish company Molslinjen has ordered three Incat-built vessels to service one of northern Europe's busiest ferry corridors.

The three vessels, Hull 102, 103 and 104, are currently under construction in Hobart, and will be the largest electric ferries in Europe.