MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Fully electric China Zorrilla ship launched in Australia

The China Zorrilla is due in Uruguay in Q4 of 2025

The China Zorrilla, the world’s largest 100% electric ferry, was launched on May 2, 2025, at Incat’s shipyard in Hobart, Tasmania, Australia. Commissioned by Buquebus, the 130-meter vessel will connect Argentina and Uruguay across the River Plate, carrying up to 2,100 passengers and 225 vehicles. The vessel is due in Uruguay in the last quarter of 2025. It was the ninth unit Incat has built for Buquebus.

“This is a historic day, not only for Incat, but for the future of shipping,” noted Incat President Robert Clifford about the Energy Storage System (ESS) powered ship. “We have been building world-class vessels here in Tasmania for more than four decades, and Ferry 096 is the most ambitious, complex, and important project we have delivered. This vessel is a game changer,” he added.

“We are truly proud to see Buquebus' vision come to fruition,” Buquebus President Juan Carlos Lopez Mena reckoned. “For me, it is a real pride to see the vision of Buquebus materialize,” he added.

The China Zorrilla, named after an Uruguayan actress well known on both shores of the River Plate, is equipped with more than 250 tons of batteries and an ESS four times larger than any previous maritime installation in the world. It is connected to eight electrically driven hydrojets and was supplied by technology partner Wärtsilä.

At 130 meters in length, Ferry 096 is not only the world's largest electric boat, but also the largest electric vehicle of its type ever built, and one of the most important export products in the history of Australian manufacturing.