LNG

The ferry company of the Canadian province of British Columbia, BC Ferries, is among the leaders in the sector globally for LNG-powered vessels and another of its newbuilds has just entered the water at the Polish Remontowa Shipyard in the Baltic port of Gdansk.

The Salish Class vessel is the fourth on order and will operate around the port city of Vancouver.

BC Ferries said that unnamed vessel was still in the process of being constructed and finished and was not expected to be ready to commence sea trials off the Baltic coast during late 2021 before making its way to the Pacific Coast of Canada.

“Following successful sea trials, the vessel will make the 10,440 nautical mile journey from Gdansk to British Columbia in early 2022 for final preparations,” said BC Ferries.

The new 107-metre-long vessel will be used to serve the Southern Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between Vancouver Island and the BC mainland from 2022.

The vessel’s entry into service would retire the 1965-built and diesel-fuelled “Mayne Queen”.

The new LNG-powered ferry will have the capacity to carry at least 138 vehicles and up to 600 passengers and crew.

BC Ferries noted that it had issued a Request for Expressions of Interest for the construction of the series vessels to leading shipyards in Canada and around the world in July 2018.

Canadian shipyards were invited to participate in the competitive bidding process.

“BC Ferries received responses from 16 international shipyards and short-listed three shipyards to proceed to the Request for Proposal (RFP) stage. No Canadian companies submitted a bid,” it added.

The dual-fuel ferries are capable of running on LNG or ultra-low sulphur diesel.

“Using primarily LNG to fuel the new ship will result in reduced emissions and reduced costs for BC Ferries,” stated the company.

The new ferries were part of the company’s move towards a sustainable future by adopting LNG.

“In partnership with the First Peoples’ Cultural Council, BC Ferries will commission an artist to create designs for the new Salish Class vessel,” it added.

BC Ferries had announced the successful launch of its third battery electric-hybrid Island Class vessel in October 2020 at the Damen Shipyard in Galati in Romania.

Following successful sea trials, the vessel will make its way to Point Hope Maritime in the BC capital of Victoria in the third quarter of 2021 for final preparations.

The yet-to-be named ship is the fourth in a series of six Island Class vessels joining the BC Ferries fleet, and the second assigned to the Campbell River -Quadra Island route.

Two-ship service is scheduled to begin on the route in 2022, replacing the larger “Powell River Queen”.