BC Ferries have issued a contract for a new ‘Salish Class’ vessel to replace one of its older, diesel-powered ships.
On Friday it was announced that the transportation company has ordered an additional liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fuelled vessel to go into service on the Southern Gulf Island routes starting in 2022. The new ship will become the fourth in its class to join the BC Ferries’ fleet and is slated to replace the diesel-powered Mayne Queen. The previous trio of Salish Class vessels were put into operation back in 2016.
“Our Clean Futures Plan is our path to replace diesel fuels with cleaner energy options. While this cannot be achieved in a single step, we are continually seeking energy sources that offer a cleaner, lower carbon-intensity option to displace non-renewable diesel,” said Captain Jamie Marshall, BC Ferries’ Vice President, Business Development & Innovation in a press release. “In our move towards a sustainable future, adopting LNG is one way to reduce our impact on the environment today. This new vessel will be our sixth ship fuelled by natural gas.”
According to BC Ferries, they have locked into a contract with Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. in Poland, the same company that built the previous Salish Class ships, and are estimating the entire project will be approximately $92.3 million dollars.
Like its sister ships, the new LNG-powered ferry will have a capacity of 138 vehicles and 600 passengers and will be “powered by three Wartsila engines and electrically propelled by Schottel
thrusters at each end, driven by an efficient gas-electric power plant,” that will reduce remissions by 15-25 percent said BC Ferries.
The on board amenities will include a Coastal Café, Passages retail store, children’s play area and a passenger lounge.
BC Ferries added in their release that they had issued Request for Expressions of Interest for the construction of the vessels to multiple Canadian shipyards in 2018, but received no bids resulting in them having to go internationally for their proposal.
The order of the ship comes shortly after two brand new hybrid-electric ferries arrived at Point Hope Maritime in Victoria.
CHEK News
