The two ferries are scheduled to begin construction this year and delivery is slated for 2021. Damen Shipyards Gorincham will build these vessels at its Mangalia shipyard in Romania.
The newbuilds will join the Canadian ferry operator’s first hybrid ferries, Seaspan Swift and Seaspan Reliant, commissioned in 2017. Seaspan Ferries said that since introducing these vessels to its fleet, it had been able to “significantly reduce” greenhouse gas emissions, while “maintaining a high level of performance and reliability for its drop-trailer service between its mainland terminals and Vancouver Island.
The new ferries will have a length of 149 m and 1,034 lane metres. Energy supply will consist of 2,093 m3 LNG storage on board with 2 MWh battery capacity. The propulsion, engines, switchboards, ESS and LNG storage is supplied by MAN Energy Solutions. Thrusters will be supplied by Schottel. The vessels will be classed Bureau Veritas.
Seaspan Ferries said that Damen Shipyards won the bid to build the new ferries thanks to their “excellent reputation, commitment to quality and proven infrastructure at Mangalia shipyard”.
Seaspan Marine Transportation chief executive Frank Butzelaar said “Within their first two years of service, our existing LNG hybrid vessels have operated with emissions reductions of over 50% compared to traditional vessels, a large part of which is directly linked to using LNG fuel. These results reflect Seaspan’s commitment to our core value of 'Care for the Environment'. Expanding our fleet of LNG vessels will allow us to further expand our service offering and reduce emissions at the same time.”
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