A new terminal will be built © Baleària
Baleària plans to open a service between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico in 2024
FerryBaleària plans to open a new ferry route between San Pedro de Macorís (Dominican Republic) and Mayagüez (Puerto Rico) after summer 2024. The shipping company plans to provide a daily ferry service over the 133 miles between the two ports. It also plans to build a terminal in the port of San Pedro de Macorís and adapt the one in Mayagüez.
The company will make this seven-hour crossing between the two islands of the Antilles with an "eco-efficient" ship that could become the first natural gas-powered ferry in the Caribbean. Baleària will apply its combined passenger, vehicle and freight transport model to offer a daily and reliable maritime communication between territories. The customer service and the quality of onboard services will be a priority, as well as the daily connections will enhance ro-ro cargo transport to guarantee express deliveries in less than 24 hours, where reliability and punctuality outstand as the main competitive advantages. The digitalization of services and AI will contribute to the achieve the maximum excellence in transport services.
In addition, Baleària plans to invest USD 100 million in the launch of this new maritime line, which includes the construction of port facilities of more than 100,000m2. In the port of San Pedro de Macorís, in the Dominican Republic, a multifunctional passenger terminal will be built, and in the port of Mayagüez, in Puerto Rico, it is planned to adapt existing facilities. Both facilities will have a gangway and a finger as well as a ramp to enhance the loading and unloading of vehicles.
Baleària has been operating in the Caribbean since 2011, where it currently connects the North American port of Fort Lauderdale with the Bahamian islands of Grand Bahama and Bimini. This new service will be Baleària's third route in the Caribbean and its sixth internationally.
"The experience and performance over these ten years are the guarantee of our commitment to expansion into such strategic markets as the Caribbean, where we believe that our business model can be a key driver for the socio-economic development of both countries", explained the president of Baleària, Adolfo Utor, at an event held this Sunday in the Dominican port, which was attended by the president of the Dominican Republic, Luis Rodolfo Abinader, as well as 500 local and port authority representatives from the countries that the new route will link. "Our objective is to promote the mobility of passengers and goods among the Antilles, with the aim of boosting tourism and trade, as well as the exchange of cultures and knowledge", stressed Utor.
© Shippax
The BAHAMA MAMA will likely be the vessel for the service © Mike Barker
Dec 05 2023
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