The new Fred Olsen Express catamaran took place on May 6 at the Rodman Polyships shipyard, in Meira (Pontevedra). It is a Rodman 80 model vessel, christened Buganvilla Express, which will be used to transport travelers between Lanzarote and Fuerteventura, with a capacity for 250 people.
The ship, which will be delivered next June, has been sponsored by Beatriz Blasco Herrera. The new Rodman 80, 26 meters long and 9.80 meters wide, will house two engines of 1,470 HP each. In addition, it will have an interior and exterior deck, highly demanded among the tourist public, as well as a bar/cafeteria service and on-board entertainment.
In the words of the general director of Fred. Olsen S.A., Andrés Marín, “this act culminates the construction process that Rodman has been developing, in collaboration with the technical team of our shipping company. Once the final testing phase is completed, the Buganvilla Express will begin to provide service between the islands of Fuerteventura and Lanzarote in June.”
The event brought together Andrés Marín, the fleet director of Fred. Olsen Express, Juan Ignacio Liaño; the head of the technical department, Iván Fernández, the head of on-board services of the shipping company, Erik Lehmann and the head of security, Mario Torres. On behalf of the shipyard, its president, Manuel Rodríguez, attended; the vice president and CEO, Óscar Rodríguez; the director of international expansion, Silvia Rodríguez; the technical director, Raimundo Tapia; the commercial director, Gonzalo Torres; the production director, Ricardo Rodríguez and the marketing director, María Herrero.
Also attending were senior officials from the General Directorate of the Merchant Marine and the Maritime Captaincies of Vigo and La Coruña, specifically, the deputy director general of the General Directorate of the Merchant Marine, José Cebrián; the maritime captain of Vigo, Manuel Ángel García and the maritime captain of A Coruña, Gonzalo Guillén.
From Rodman, its president, Manuel Rodríguez, thanked the shipping company for its trust and expressed his satisfaction, because the launching ceremony was carried out with total success, “the construction process is meeting the initial expectations set by Fred. Olsen Express and also with those of our quality seal as a shipyard. After the launching, we will begin the final phase of final adjustments, quality control and sea trials, where we hope that the vessel meets the performance we estimate, exceeding initial expectations.”
About Fred. Olsen Express
Fred. Olsen Express celebrates 50 years connecting the Canary Islands by sea. The shipping company began its journey in 1974 with the first Ferry Gomera between San Sebastián de La Gomera and Los Cristianos, in Tenerife. Since then, it has maintained its commitment to the development of maritime transport in the archipelago, through a service offered by state-of-the-art ships and based on comfort, speed and flexibility.
Faithful to its vocation to generate wealth among the Canarian community, the shipping company has a human team of nearly 1,000 people. Currently, it operates through five maritime lines. Since 2018, it has also connected the archipelago with the Iberian Peninsula through the connection of Gran Canaria and Tenerife with Huelva.
Fred. Olsen Express makes an average of 22,000 trips per year, and annually transports more than 3.5 million people, more than 63,000 pets, around one million cars and around 1,300,000 linear meters of cargo, that is, about 100,000 goods transport vehicles. Since its origin, more than 85 million passengers have trusted the company.
In line with the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the Canary Islands Sustainable Development Agenda 2030, through its program In Harmony with the Sea Fred. Olsen Express ensures that