It is 130 meters long and weighs 250 tons just in its batteries: the world’s largest electric ship is already sailing between Argentina and Uruguay

31/10/2026 10:00

Updated to

31/10/2026 10:00

In today’s world, electrification extends far beyond cars or trucks, affecting all types of transportation. As such, electric ships will become increasingly common. While there are already plans for one to connect Spain with Morocco, the world’s largest electric ship has now entered service, linking Argentina with Uruguay.

It is an electric ferry, similar to those already in use in Denmark; but with its 130 meters in length, it is also the world’s largest electric ship. Its capabilities match its title, thanks to batteries totaling 40,000 kWh—80,000 times that of a typical electric car—and weighing 250 tons. These are powered by up to eight massive electric motors, allowing it to carry 2,100 passengers and 225 cars on each journey.

This ship is the world’s largest electric vehicle and can be recharged in 90 minutes.

The news is that this electric ship, which has been in the news since 2023, has just entered service to operate on the river route across the Río de la Plata between Buenos Aires, Argentina, and Colonia de Sacramento in Uruguay.

The world’s largest electric ship is also the largest electric vehicle in the world, thanks to its 130 meters in length, along with 32 meters in beam or width and a draft of only 3.5 meters.

Its 250 tons of batteries power up to 8 hydrojet-type electric motors, which drive corresponding water jets and enable it to reach speeds of up to 25 knots or 46 km/h. But what’s most interesting is that its batteries provide sufficient range to cover the approximately 60 kilometers between Argentina and Uruguay in less than an hour and a half.

This electric ship plans to make this journey up to three times a day, so it needs to recharge after each trip. It does this at a giant charging station with 15,000 kWh capacity, which takes between 60 and 90 minutes.

It’s called China Zorrilla, but it has nothing to do with China

An interesting fact about what is the world’s largest electric vessel—equipped with batteries four times larger than those used in previous electric or hybrid ships—is that it’s named China Zorrilla, yet it has absolutely no connection to China at all.

In fact, the ship was built by the Australian shipyard Incat Tasmania; it had to be transported to Argentina… on another cargo ship, of course, powered by diesel.

However, the company that operates it on the Argentina-Uruguay route, Buquebus — which transports over 2 million passengers on this route each year — has named it China Zorilla. And no, the ship does not have any Chinese origins; its name is a tribute to the famous Uruguayan actress and film director Concepción Matilde Zorrilla [1922-2014], nicknamed China Zorilla, who worked numerous times in Argentina, as well as in France, the United Kingdom, and Spain.