VIDEO: BC Ferries’ third LNG fueled ferry heads for Canada

APRIL 29, 2017 — BC Ferries reports that Salish Raven, the third and final Salish Class LNG dual fuel vessel, is on its way from Remontowa Shipbuilding’s Gdansk, Poland, shipyard.

The vessel departed Gdansk, yesterday, for a 10,440 nautical mile journey bound for its new home in British Columbia.

The Transatlantic voyage will take approximately 45 to 55 days, depending on weather. The journey will include stops for refueling in Santa Cruz, Canary Islands and Panama City, Panama. The vessel will also transit the Panama Canal and sail up the west coast of North America to British Columbia.

Salish Orca, BC Ferries’ first dual-fuel vessel, will be introduced into service next month on the Powell River – Comox route. Salish Eagle, the second Salish Class vessel, will start service on the Tsawwassen – Southern Gulf Islands route in late June. Salish Raven will be introduced in the Southern Gulf Islands in the fall.

The 107 m, 8,728 gt Salish Class ships will carry 145 vehicles and up to 600 passengers and crew. The vessels feature two car decks and have a service speed of 15.5 knots. Each ship is powered by three Wärtsilä 8L20DF engines.

“This is a major milestone in our newbuild program as Salish Raven, the final vessel in this series, is now making its way to British Columbia,” said Mark Collins, BC Ferries’ President and CEO. “With these new vessels, we continue to move towards standardization of our fleet, which offers interoperability and lower crew training and maintenance costs, and also enhances safety.”

BC Ferries will take final acceptance and ownership of Salish Raven upon final inspection once the vessel arrives in B.C. Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. is responsible for delivery of the ship to B.C. and has contracted with a professional international ship delivery specialist. Some of BC Ferries’ crew members are on various legs of the voyage for training and familiarization.