Damen Shipyards has won the contract to build and supply four, fully electric, passenger car ferries for BC Ferries.
The vessels, based on Damen’s Island-class RoRo 8117 E3 model, will operate on 100% electrical power and have a capacity of carrying up to 47 vehicles and 390 passengers. The power trains will be supplied by battery packs with a 2,000-kilowatt capacity, and rapid recharging using renewable electricity will occur during passenger and vehicle embarkation.
In addition to onboard auxiliary diesel engines for backup, Damen will provide shoreside charging equipment, marking the fourth time the company has offered this service.
Adding more Island Class vessels will also make it easier to deploy crew, create efficiencies in training costs, and promote safe, reliable and environmentally conscious ferry services up and down the coast.
… said Nicolas Jimenez, BC Ferries’ President and CEO
This order will take the total number of ferries that Damen has supplied to BC Ferries in recent years to ten. However, these latest additions will be the first to operate using 100% electrical power.
The four vessels are scheduled to begin operations by 2027 with two vessels each on the routes connecting Nanaimo Harbour and Gabriola Island, and Campbell River and Quadra Island.
We have been working alongside the technical staff at BC Ferries for seven years now and together we have developed a series totalling ten ferries that are highly efficient; meeting all the future requirements of safe, reliable and sustainable waterborne public transport.
… commented Leo Postma, Damen’s Area Director Americas
