Bencomo Express
.jpg) Bencomo Express in Santa Cruz de la Palma | |
| History | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Name |
|
| Owner | Fred. Olsen, S.A. |
| Operator | Fred. Olsen Express |
| Port of registry | Santa Cruz de Tenerife,  Spain |
| Route | |
| Ordered | 1998 |
| Builder |
|
| Yard number | 053 |
| Launched | 1999 |
| Completed | October 1999 |
| Acquired | 1999 |
| In service | 1999 |
| Identification |
|
| Status | In service |
| General characteristics | |
| Class & type | Incat 95m wave-piercing catamaran |
| Tonnage |
|
| Length | 95.47 m (313 ft 3 in) |
| Beam | 26.16 m (85 ft 10 in) |
| Draft | 3.70 m (12 ft 2 in) |
| Decks | 3 |
| Ramps | Rear loading ramps |
| Installed power | 4 × Caterpillar 3618 diesel engines (total 28,800 kW) |
| Propulsion | 4 × Lips waterjets |
| Speed | 38.0 knots (70.4 km/h; 43.7 mph) (service) 40.0 knots (74.1 km/h; 46.0 mph) (max) |
| Capacity |
|
| Notes | Features a specialized "Premium Clase Oro" luxury salon and an onboard stability system for rough open-ocean crossings. |
Bencomo Express is a catamaran fast ferry operated by Fred. Olsen Express, which entered service in 1999 for scheduled service between the Canary Islands.
Service
[edit]The catamaran, the fourth of a series of six sister units, was launched on 18 September 1999 at the Incat specialist shipyard in Hobart with the name Benchijigua Express and delivered on 3 October to Fred. Olsen Express.[1] Following this, the same day the new fast ferry then set sail from Australia to Santa Cruz de Tenerife, where she arrived less than a month later, on 22 October, finally entering service on 25 October on the routes between the port of Tenerife and Agaete, in Gran Canaria, where she joined her sister ship Bonanza Express, with the name Bentayga Express, so renamed in view of the delivery of the third Spanish sister ship, and the last of the class, which took place in January. In November 2004 it was finally renamed Bencomo Express.[2]
In the summer of 2020, with the entry into service of the new trimaran Bajamar Express, the catamaran was transferred after twenty years of service on the route to the connections between Santa Cruz de la Palma, Los Cristianos and San Sebastián de la Gomera, where it joined the record-breaking trimaran Benchijigua Express. [3] However, in the following months, the ferry still continued to operate sporadically on the old route as a replacement for the other units of the fleet.[4]
Sister ships
[edit]References
[edit]- ↑ "Bencomo Express (ex. Benchijigua Express) , IMO 9206712". www.faergelejet.dk. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
- ↑ "HSC BENCHIJIGUA EXPRESS (1999)". faktaomfartyg.se. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
- ↑ "DNV Vessel Register". vesselregister.dnv.com. Retrieved 2026-07-19.
- ↑ Lorenzo, Juan Carlos Díaz (2021-10-06). ""Bajamar Express", a la línea Las Palmas-Morro Jable » Puente de Mando". Puente de Mando (in European Spanish). Retrieved 2026-07-19.