BC Ferries has been given the green light to acquire four more hybrid-electric Island Class ferries.
In a media release Monday, the ferry corporation said the BC Ferries Commissioner had approved a capital expenditure to procure the vessels, which will serve the Nanaimo-Gabriola Island and Campbell River-Quadra Island routes by 2027.
The acquisition will allow Island Class vessels already serving those routes to be re-deployed to serve Salt Spring, Quadra, Cortez, Denman and Hornby islands, boosting capacity, the company said.
There are currently six Island Class vessels in the BC Ferries fleet. The company said adding four more will help it reduce the variety of vessels it operates, making maintenance, training and operations easier.
The ferries can carry 47 vehicles and up to 450 passengers and are powered by hybrid diesel-electric engines which BC Ferries says also reduce underwater noise.
The company said it has also received approval to add electrical upgrades for shore-based rapid charging at Nanaimo, Gabriola Island, Campbell River and Quadra Island terminals.
The electrification project will receive funding from the provincial government through the monetization of low-carbon fuel credits BC Ferries earns from cutting an estimated 10,000 tons of CO2 equivalent, the company said.
Neither BC Ferries nor the BC Ferry Commission have released a cost estimate for the new vessels, which the company said is now going to the procurement process with “negotiations to begin imminently.”
BC Ferries ordered its last batch of four Island Class ferries in 2019 from Dutch shipbuilder Damen Shipyards Group at a cost of $200 million.
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