VESSEL REVIEW | Volcan de Tagoro – New 111-metre Ro-Pax arrives in Spain

Incat's newest 111-metre ferry, the Ro-Pax named Volcan de Tagoro, has been handed over to her new Spanish owner Naviera Armas, which will operate the vessel on Spanish routes, including the Canary Islands.

The company has an extensive fleet of vessels, and Volcan de Tagoro will be the fifth Incat vessel operating in the Armas fleet. It is the company's first newbuild from Incat, having obtained its other Incat-built vessels on the second-hand market.

Volcan de Tagoro has capacity for 1,200 persons, including crew, and the expansive vehicle deck allows for almost 600 truck lane metres plus 219 cars, or in car-only mode it can accommodate 401 cars.

The two slender, aluminium hulls are connected by a bridging section with centre bow structure at forward end. Each hull is divided into ten vented, watertight compartments divided by transverse bulkheads.

Three compartments in each hull are prepared as fuel oil tanks with additional strengthening on each of the end bulkheads and intermediate tank tops.

Passenger spaces are divided into three classes – first class, business class and economy. Each area offers bars and food service areas. A gift shop and children's play area are also located on board.

The ship is powered by four MAN 20V diesel engines driving waterjets. Volcan de Tagoro achieved over 42 knots with 600 tonnes deadweight during speed trials, easily achieving her contract speed and the loaded service speed required for the Spanish routes.

A Naiad Dynamics active ride control system is fitted to maximise passenger comfort. This system combines active trim tabs aft and a fold-down T-foil located at the aft end of the centre bow.

Internal facilities

Luxurious open spaces and extensive facilities are available to all passengers. Plush carpets, hardwearing wood finish walkways, coloured wall panelling and stainless steel handrails are featured throughout.

All passenger areas offer a flexible mix of seating and tables where travellers can relax, enjoy the scenery, or make use of the onboard entertainment. A colourful children's playroom, parent's lounge, shop, purser's office, disabled toilet, ceiling mounted televisions and an open promenade deck at the stern are available to all.

Toilets feature quartz or marble benchtops and hygienic air blade hand dryers, with the disabled toilet offering a baby change table. The vessel's bars and kiosk feature stainless steel food grade benches, cabinets and storage.

Liberal use of lighting, glass and colourful light panels give a fully customisable, club-like ambience for all first class, business and economy passengers. Crew are catered for with cabins located on the upper vehicle deck both port and starboard.

Lounge seating, refreshment, showering and toilet facilities are also provided in a crew room on the passenger deck. It comes equipped with network access to the kiosk, shop, ship's telemetry and internet access.

First class passengers have access to a private outdoor seating area with high-back bench seating which extends across the stern from amidships to the starboard side. A generous bar with beer taps, fridge and freezer, secure swipe-card style doorway access and exclusive female and male toilets complement a secluded space away from the activity of the main cabin.

Business passengers are treated to a bright and spacious compartment at the bow of the ship, with beautiful 180-degree views from the forward and side windows.

Appointed with both freestanding and integrated tables, comfortable reclining and bucket seats, passengers can unwind whilst having sole access to male and female toilet facilities. Security via swipe-card door access and a restricted bar equipped with beer taps, a fridge and freezer allows customers to enjoy their trip in a more exclusive and intimate setting.

Passengers travelling in economy have access to a spacious mid-ship cabin. Tired passengers can retreat to an isolated entertainment and quiet area in the aft area of the deck. Users are presented with airline-style reclining seats, tables and two large cinema-style televisions.

Refreshments from a bar and kiosk are provided, with stainless steel and glass cabinets to display hot and cold meals, drinks and desserts. Guardrails adjacent to the counter marshal users in an orderly fashion when ordering and purchasing items

Ample food storage and preparation capacity is provided by the amidships pantry. Equipped with extensive shelving, three convection ovens, substantial fridge and two freezers, the pantry can cater for a large variety of food and drinks

Boarding facilities

Vehicles come aboard via an articulated two-piece ramp at the stern, with traffic directed up the port side. Smaller vehicles can make their way up to the upper deck via a ramp at the bow. Large trucks are able to drive on and off without reversing as the lower deck layout allows them to turn from the port side to the centre and starboard lanes.

Foot passengers can also use the vehicle ramp to board when docking at Mediterranean-style berths. The vehicle decks are bright and open with natural light coming from openings in the bow and stern. A durable and low maintenance bead blast is applied to each deck to prevent tyre skid. Structural members are painted in yellow to ensure any obstructions to vehicles or passengers are easily spotted.

Foot passengers coming aboard via port and starboard gangways on the upper vehicle deck are greeted with a clean and inviting entry. Fully enclosed and fire protected stairwells forward, aft and amidships allow easy access to the passenger deck. A wheelchair accessible lift on the starboard side can transfer up to eight passengers between the three decks.

Four marine evacuation stations (MES), two port and two starboard, are each capable of serving a total of up to 300 persons. A total of fourteen, 100-person liferafts are also fitted, along with a pair of SOLAS semi-rigid inflatable dinghies with motors and approved launch/recovery method.

See all the other content from this month's Passenger Vessel Week right here, including reviews, features, opinions and news.