First Transtejo electric ferry set sail

The new Transtejo/Soflusa electric ferries are "another contribution to cutting greenhouse gas emissions" said Prime Minister António Costa during the ship’s maiden voyage between Seixal and Lisboa. 

"They are more comfortable ships, they will carry more people with effective gains in the capacity to transport at lower costs for the operation and the environment", he added on board the first of ten electric ferries that will operate between the North and South banks of the Tagus.

António Costa also said the Lisbon Metropolitan Area "is a large city with two shores and we want both of them to come closer together".

Public transportation with lower gas emissions requires investment to improve quality, he said, noting the importance of lithium in these technologies. Portugal has this ore, crucial to produce electric batteries used in phones, cars, or these boats. "This ship wouldn’t sail if lithium wasn0t mined", he stated.

"This is an extraordinary opportunity for the country, which for many decades complained it lacked natural resources. This time, we have one of the largest European lithium reserves and this is a major natural resource that will enhance the country’s economy in the future", he underlined.

In the previous energy revolutions, Portugal was left out because it lacked coal, gas, and oil. In this new transition, Portugal has not just the sun, the wind, hydraulic power, as well as lithium", he added.

TT/SL Fleet

The Minister of Environment and Climate Action Duarte Cordeiro said that with the setting sail of this ship, "we are taking a decisive step to renew the Transtejo fleet", an operation with environmental, operating, and social gains.

The "Cegonha Branca" (White Seagull) delivered in March, is the first of ten electric ferries that will begin operating on the Tagus by 2025. A further seven should be delivered in 2024, two of which in February, enabling the river connection between Seixal and Cais do Sodré (Lisbon).

The Minister also said the work to install two charging stations for the ferries are under way. They will be completed in December in Seixal, followed by Montijo in February, Cais do Sodré in May, and Cacilhas in June.

"This is a project that will take passenger river transport to an international benchmark public service. Reliable, safe, comfortable, contributing in a decisive manner to decarbonising mobility in the Lisbon Metropolitan Area", he said.

According to the company’s calculations, the new fleet will avoid consumption of over five million litres of oil, savings greater than 13 thousand tonnes of CO2.