site.btaFirst Bulgarian Electric Catamaran Starts Testing on the Danube

Silistra Municipality started a test run of the first Bulgarian electric catamaran on the Danube River. The vessel is worth nearly two million euros and is made under a cross-border project between Silistra and the County Council in the Romanian town of Calarasi.

According to Silistra Mayor Alexander Sabanov, the project has been completed on the Bulgarian side and the catamaran can start carrying passengers. The delay comes from the Romanian partners who are still carrying out finishing works.

"We expect the ship to leave when the Romanians finish their part of the project and build a pier where it can dock. The purpose of the ship is to carry passengers from Silistra to Calarasi and back. In the beginning we will put some kind of a fee for the trip, by design we should not profit from this service, but this does not mean that we should not cover our costs," Sabanov told BTA.

He added that the municipality will start developing river tourism. For this purpose, the existing solar-powered vessels will be repaired and used for trips on the Danube.

The electric catamaran will provide a transport and communication link on the river between the towns of Silistra and Calarasi. It is 12 metres long and six metres wide. The vessel is equipped with two electric motors and can reach speeds of up to 13 km/h. Its capacity is up to 28 passengers and a crew of two.