Canada’s BC Ferries has awarded a US$69.7M contract to Remontowa Shipbuilding SA to build a 107-m LNG-fuelled roro ferry for its Southern Gulf Islands
Scheduled for delivery in 2022, the new vessel will be identical to the three Salish-class ferries built by Remontowa for BC Ferries in 2016.
“Our Clean Futures Plan is our path to replace diesel fuels with cleaner energy options,” said BC Ferries vice president, business development and innovation Captain Jamie Marshall. “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,” added Captain Marshall.
BC Ferries has made a commitment to LNG as marine fuel as part of its transition towards a low-carbon future, with the newbuild the sixth in its fleet to use LNG as fuel.
Constructed under a design-build, fixed-priced contract, the newbuild will have an overall length of 107.2 m, beam of 23 m, with capacity for 138 vehicles and 600 passengers and crew. Propulsion will be supplied by three Wartsila dual-fuel main engines in a gas-electric power plant that drives Schottel azimuthing thusters at each end of the vessel. The electrically driven propulsion allows for the elimination of gear boxes and shafts, lowering capex and opex costs for the vessel. The vessel’s hull is designed for low wake and its resiliently mounted engines will minimise structure-borne noise, increasing passenger comfort and mitigating the vessel’s impact on the environment.
The newbuild will allow 1965-built, diesel-powered Mayne Queen to be retired.
Using natural gas as the primary fuel is expected to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 15% to 25%, SOx by over 85%, NOx by over 50% and virtually eliminates particulate matter.
Two of the three previous Salish-class vessels, Salish Raven and Salish Orca, operate on the Southern Gulf Islands route. Sister vessel Salish Eagle is active on the Comox-Powell River route.
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