First it was cars, then electric heat pumps. Now it’s EV ferries.British Columbia’s flagship crown corp. on Tuesday announced tenders for four new hybrid electric ferries to increase capacity and service between the Southern Gulf Islands starting in 2027.The new ships will each carry at least 47 vehicles and up to 390 passengers and crew, with plans to operate them exclusively in battery-electric mode using “renewable” energy from sister corp. BC Hydro.Dutch-based Damen Shipyards Group is the same company that built its last six ferries in the same Island Class of double-ended hybrid ships under a so-called ‘design-build fixed price’ contract, according to a news release.The four new vessels will enter service by 2027 on the routes connecting Nanaimo Harbour and Gabriola Island (two vessels) and Campbell River and Quadra Island (two vessels). .Through a separate contract, BC Ferries will also initiate corresponding electrical upgrades for shore-based rapid charging at the four terminals on these routes, in time for ship delivery.Costs weren’t disclosed but an approval order by the BC Ferries Commissioner — the third-party contractor that operates the company under management contract — was issued in December that basically gave the company a blank cheque for the tender, with dollar amounts left blank.It only disclosed the costs of the vessels would “exceed” prescribed limits of $50 million while the electrification facilities at the various ports would exceed $40 million as required under BC law.It is also seeking to recover undisclosed third-party funding to offset electrification costs under the province’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act, the Commercial Pilot Agreement and an unspecified contribution from BC Hydro.“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 BC Ferries’ CEO Nicolas Jimenez.“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.”
First it was cars, then electric heat pumps. Now it’s EV ferries.British Columbia’s flagship crown corp. on Tuesday announced tenders for four new hybrid electric ferries to increase capacity and service between the Southern Gulf Islands starting in 2027.The new ships will each carry at least 47 vehicles and up to 390 passengers and crew, with plans to operate them exclusively in battery-electric mode using “renewable” energy from sister corp. BC Hydro.Dutch-based Damen Shipyards Group is the same company that built its last six ferries in the same Island Class of double-ended hybrid ships under a so-called ‘design-build fixed price’ contract, according to a news release.The four new vessels will enter service by 2027 on the routes connecting Nanaimo Harbour and Gabriola Island (two vessels) and Campbell River and Quadra Island (two vessels). .Through a separate contract, BC Ferries will also initiate corresponding electrical upgrades for shore-based rapid charging at the four terminals on these routes, in time for ship delivery.Costs weren’t disclosed but an approval order by the BC Ferries Commissioner — the third-party contractor that operates the company under management contract — was issued in December that basically gave the company a blank cheque for the tender, with dollar amounts left blank.It only disclosed the costs of the vessels would “exceed” prescribed limits of $50 million while the electrification facilities at the various ports would exceed $40 million as required under BC law.It is also seeking to recover undisclosed third-party funding to offset electrification costs under the province’s Greenhouse Gas Reduction Act, the Commercial Pilot Agreement and an unspecified contribution from BC Hydro.“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 BC Ferries’ CEO Nicolas Jimenez.“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.”
