After the christening ceremony, held this Thursday at the Navaltagus shipyard, in Seixal, the departure to Aveiro depends on weather and sea conditions. The installation of the charging system in Aveiro remains to be completed, Ribau Esteves told ECO/Local Online.

“The Salicórnia is the first electric ferryboat manufactured in Portugal and by a Portuguese company”, although with components manufactured in other countries, highlights the mayor who presides over the Aveiro City Council.


After undergoing sea trials, the ferryboat “Salicórnia” will sail from the shipyards of Navaltagus, part of the ETE group, heading to Aveiro to join the AveiroBus operation. From the first half of December, he assures, the vessel will increase its transport capacity for 260 passengers and 19 vehicles, an increase of 90% and 30%, respectively. Added to this are low noise levels and comfort for passengers.

Ribau Esteves also highlights the “relevant public service” that the municipality now makes available to the population, especially those in São Jacinto, who need this transport to cross the Aveiro Ria channel. The municipality guarantees that it will continue to support this service. Otherwise, he stresses, “tickets would be very expensive and [the cost] would be unaffordable for people”. This support costs municipal coffers half a million euros a year, he calculated.

For now, the chamber will maintain the current price charged on the “old” ferryboat, which will now be replaced. “We will carry out a cost analysis in the first months of operation to confirm whether we will have the reduction in operating costs that is in the project”, he explained. “Once this reduction is confirmed”, the next step will be to reflect this same reduction in operating costs in the tariff to be applied, guarantees the social democrat.