BC Ferries have taken one further step toward introducing new ships to their fleet in the coming years and now, they are ready to show the public what they might be able to expect.
On Monday, February 26th, they released the photos in a media statement, along with some additional details.
BC Ferries says they are aiming to have up to seven of these vessels in their fleet by 2029.
Because of their aging fleet that face various maintenance issues because of their age, BC Ferries will have to replace at least six of their current vessels.
They say the new ships would replace the vessels currently servicing their busiest routes between Vancouver and Vancouver Island.
“The New Major Vessels program is the largest part of our capital plan to modernize and transform the ferry experience in British Columbia,” said Nicolas Jimenez, BC Ferries’ President and CEO.
“These vessels—greener, more efficient and standardized—represent the future of ferry travel in our province. They will significantly increase daily capacity, provide an enhanced customer experience, improve reliability and reduce environmental impacts.”
The capacity of these new vessels would be to carry up to 360 standard size vehicles along with 2,100 people.
This is a significant upgrade from the largest of the vessels that currently service Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen, which can carry just 250-310 vehicles and 1,200-1,500 people.
The design for these new vessels was done in collaboration with LMG Marin AS, a naval architecture firm from Norway.
BC Ferries also says that part of the deal is to have all the new vessels be hybrids, so they can eventually be converted to fully electric operation once shore-based recharging infrastructure becomes more viable.
The new vessels will be built by whoever the company picks from the bidding process which ends on March 22nd.
Then, in the summer months of this year, BC Ferries will announce the shipyard who will build the new ferries.
