The Port of Barcelona yesterday added a new ship to its long list of first calls: the Eleanor Roosevelt, a new generation catamaran that arrived directly from Dénia on Wednesday night, entering through the north entrance to dock next to the Drassanes maritime station. The vessel, which entered service last May 1st on the Denia-Ibiza-Palma line, dawned in Barcelona with the mission of resuming high-speed maritime links with the Balearic Islands, interrupted in the 2020 season.
The recovery of the AVE del mar (sea high-speed trains) between Catalonia and Menorca was intended to coincide with a milestone in decarbonization in the maritime transport sector: the first pilot trip on a fast ferry with 100% renewable fuel in Europe to cover the 133 miles between the ports of Barcelona and Son Blanc, in Ciutadella.
The Eleanor Roosevelt is the world's first fast ferry with dual natural gas engines and the use of biomethane as a renewable fuel. On its journey yesterday, it avoided the emission of more than 50 tons of CO2 into the atmosphere.
"This is now our flagship and exemplifies our company's commitment to sustainability and innovation. We are pioneers in the use of natural gas and have already invested 380 million euros in a fleet of nine natural gas ferries. Being a pioneer is nice, but sometimes it's very uphill because the administration doesn't make things easy for us," commented the president of Baleària, Adolfo Utor, during the presentation of the ship and also of the XII Report on the Situation of CO2 emissions in the world in 2019 by the Empresa y Clima Foundation, where the latest official verified data on the situation of CO2 emissions worldwide, European and Spanish were offered.
Thus, according to official, public and private data from 2018, energy-related greenhouse gas emissions in the world increased by 2.1%, surpassing 33.5 billion tons. Of the top five countries, all of them emit above 1 billion tons and only Japan reduced emissions compared to the previous year by 4%. India has been the one that has increased the most among these five countries with 5.3%. Another important fact revealed by the report is that the United States and China continue to lead global emissions, with 43% of the world's emissions.
In the European sphere, total emissions in 2018 dropped by 1.8% compared to the previous year, falling below 5.2 billion tons of CO2, with Belgium being the state that has increased the most, while Germany and Spain were the countries that have done the most homework in reducing emissions, up to 14%.
As host of the meeting, Utor recalled during the crossing on a calm sea (with waves of a maximum of half a meter, as the captain recalled) that this is a first experience carried out hand in hand with an important partner and marks a new milestone on the path towards decarbonization by 2050, by being able to use biomethane as a renewable fuel, but he also added that, although it is currently a scarce fuel, he hopes it can soon be more accessible, both in volume and in competitiveness.
The partner in question mentioned is Axpo, which is progressively strengthening its position as a supplier of Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) as marine fuel with this initiative, using biomethane as a new lever in the fight against climate change. "Axpo was the first operator to market biomethane in Spain in 2015 and this project sends a clear message about our commitment to an energetically decarbonized future thanks to a 100% renewable origin fuel that will contribute to meeting the sustainable development goals set by Europe for 2030," commented the general director of Axpo Iberia, Ignacio Soneira, during the event.
"For several years now, Axpo Iberia has closed transactions that have had a direct impact on the decarbonization of the Spanish energy system. Axpo Iberia closed the first long-term agreement for the purchase and sale of renewable electricity, thus increasing the installed capacity of solar production in Spain and, last year, closed the first long-term biomethane purchase and sale agreement, thus displacing more than 25 GWh/year of fossil gas from the gas system," he added.
With yesterday's crossing, Barcelona recovers its high-speed maritime line with Menorca, Baleària reinforces its presence in the port, with a fourth daily vessel that practically halves the crossings and above all it was demonstrated that, with will and pioneering shipping companies, the maritime world is on the right track in decarbonization.