The contract has been awarded to a shipyard to build four new hybrid electric vessels for the BC Ferries fleet.
Damen Shipyards Group has officially won the contract to build the “Island Class” vessels for BC Ferries; however, they did not share how much the new ships will cost.
“At this point we’re keeping the cost of the project confidential to protect the commercial information of both BC Ferries and the shipbuilder,” said a BC Ferries spokesperson.
“This aligns with the BC Ferries Commissioner’s direction that the costs of the program remain confidential until completion or later, if the Commissioner makes that determination.”
They told Victoria Buzz that they are trying to acquire contracts in order to build the ferries quicker than in the past and are concerned that by releasing the cost of the project, they will cause undue stress on the procurement process.
“Any unnecessary increase to what those ships cost us puts pressure on fares in the future, and we want to do everything we can to get the best price for us and for the benefit of our passengers,” BC Ferries continued.
Two of the ferries are planned to operate between Nanaimo Harbour and Gabriola Island while the other two will service the Campbell River and Quadra Island route.
“The new hybrid electric vessels will further standardize our fleet, both increasing capacity and improving our flexibility to move ships across routes so our passengers can have confidence that we’ll get them where they need to go,” said Nicolas Jimenez, BC Ferries’ President and CEO.
“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.”
Damen is the same shipyard that built BC Ferries’ previous six Island Class ferries, and is based out of the Netherlands.
The new ferries will be built by them out of a shipyard they own in Romania and will build the vessels in Romania.
Their bid was among several from around the world. According to BC Ferries, no Canadian companies submitted a bid.
The Damen-build vessels will be able to carry 47 vehicles and up to 390 passengers each.
Although they will be hybrids, the company says they plan to operate these new vessels exclusively in battery-electric mode.
The four new vessels are slated to begin servicing their intended routes in 2027.
BC Ferries next step is to award a contract for initiating electrical upgrades for shore-based rapid charging at the four terminals on the ferries routes in time for ship delivery.
