During the first trip of the fast ferry Eleanor Roosevelt de Baleària, which covers the Dénia-Ibiza-Palma route daily, the journalist Esther Collado knows all the ship's services first-hand. "A ship that will mark history", in the words of the president of the shipping company, Adolfo Utor, who appears in the report talking with one of the company's historical captains, Francisco Jiménez Vara. They both recall how Baleària It revolutionized maritime transport to the Balearic Islands 20 years ago with the introduction of high speed, to which it now adds the sustainability component. Baleària It thus responds to a growing demand from its resident, national and international clients, to travel while minimizing the ecological footprint.
"In 2001 the Federico Garcia Lorca it was groundbreaking in terms of speed, it was a very important jump ”, remembers Utor. "We had a very high bar, and we have exceeded ourselves," says captain Jiménez Vara. The president of the shipping company considers that the Eleanor Roosevelt It represents "a new revolution in terms of digitization and emission control" and recalls that thanks to being the first fast ferry in the world in sailing with natural gas engines and one of the highest capacity, Baleària has managed to "transport more people with a much lower consumption of atmosphere". The new fast ferry It is one more step in the sustainability of transport to and between the islands that are preparing for the reopening of tourist activity. However, the president of the shipping company points out that this ship “is not the end” but rather opens the door to the next step: “LNG, of which we are pioneers with nine ships, is a transitional fuel; the goal is the year 2050 with total decarbonisation, where fuels such as hydrogen will have to enter, in which we have already begun to work ”, he concludes.
Onboard services and innovations
During the first trip of the fast ferry, which daily covers the Dénia-Ibiza-Palma route, Collado knows all the ship's services through different interviews. Thus, the Director of Innovation of Baleària, Arturo Escartí, explains the news of this smart ship, "That improve the customer experience from start to finish", such as the virtual assistant Serena "who accompanies the passenger from the moment they make the reservation, answers questions, and presents the SmartB platform", which gives access to free multimedia content, connect to the Internet, watch your pet thanks to the webcams installed in the cages or place an order at the ship's cafeteria. In addition, the head of the cabin, Sonia Vázquez, shows the journalist "the spacious and bright spaces and the reclining seats" and emphasizes the speed of the ship, which allows her to complete the journeys in just two hours. Finally, Elena Munar, head of the Ibiza box office, points out "the essential nature of Baleària's services for the transport of passengers and goods" to the Balearic Islands.
