Canada's shipbuilder Davie lays keel of the first in North America LNG fuelled ferry

Canada’s largest shipbuilder Chantier Davie Canada Inc. (Davie) yesterday (February 26) held a keel laying ceremony for MV Armand-Imbeau II. The ceremony marked the beginning of the hull assembly for this first of two sister-ships under construction at Davie for the Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ),  The event took place at Chantier Davie in the presence of the Minister for Transport and the Implementation of the Maritime Strategy, Mr. Jean D’Amour, and the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Société des traversiers du Québec, Mr. Jocelyn Fortier.

Built at a total cost of $125 M, these new ships for the Tadoussac crossing, each with the capacity of 440 passengers and 110 vehicles and a live load doubled to nearly 1 150 tons, will be able to welcome aboard nearly 50% more vehicles than ferries currently in service.

The two ferries for the Tadoussac‒Baie-Sainte-Catherine route are built for year-round navigation on the Saguenay Fjord. Measuring 92 metres long, each ship will include eight rows on two decks, enabling the transport of up to 110 vehicles, including tractor-trailers. The ferries use the latest generation in motorized systems including Liquefied Natural Gas engines. Instead of a conventional propulsion system, each ship uses electric thrusters. The MV Armand-Imbeau II is scheduled to be delivered in Fall 2015 followed by the MV Jos-Deschênes II, four months later.

Mr. Fortier stated that the two new ferries will be the first LNG-propelled ferries built in North America.

Chantier Davie Canada Inc. (Davie) is Canada’s award-winning, largest and highest capacity shipyard and industrial fabricator. Since its inception in 1825 Davie has built over 700 vessels, from steamboats to diesel-electric oilfield services vessels with advanced dynamic positioning systems and naval vessels with complex combat systems. The company builds, converts, repairs and upgrades almost every form of vessel, rig and offshore platform including tankers, bulk carriers, containerships, fishing vessels, ferries, naval vessels and jack-up and semi-submersible drilling and production platforms.