BC Ferries orders new LNG-fueled vessel at Remontowa

British Columbia Ferry Services (BC Ferries) has awarded the Polish Remontowa Shipbuilding yard in Gdansk, a contract to build an additional liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fuelled vessel.

The newbuild is scheduled to go into service in the Southern Gulf Islands in 2022, BC Ferries said in its statement.

This vessel will be identical to the three Salish Class vessels built by Remontowa for BC Ferries in 2016.

The agreement with Remontowa is a design-build, fixed-priced contract that provides BC Ferries with substantial guarantees related to delivery dates, performance criteria, cost certainty and quality construction. The total project budget, which includes financing and project management costs, is approximately $92.3 million.

The 107-meter Salish Class vessel will have the capacity to carry at least 138 vehicles and up to 600 passengers and crew. It will allow for the retirement of the Mayne Queen, a diesel-fuelled vessel.

The ship will be powered by three Wartsila engines and electrically propelled by Schottel thrusters at each end, driven by an efficient gas-electric power plant.

BC Ferries issued a Request for Expressions of Interest (RFEOI) for the construction of the vessels to leading shipyards in Canada and around the world in July 2018, inviting Canadian shipyards to participate in the bidding.

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.