In a competitive tender process that attracted many international bidders, Damen Shipyards has won the contract to build and supply four, fully electric, passenger car ferries for BC Ferries. These will be used for short-range services in the coastal waters of the Canadian province of British Columbia (BC). This order will take the total number of ferries that Damen has supplied to BC Ferries in recent years to ten. However, these latest additions will be the first to operate using 100% electrical power.
The vessels will be based on Damen’s double-ended Island-class RoRo 8117 E3 model. Each will be capable of carrying up to 47 vehicles and 390 passengers. Battery packs with a capacity of 2,000 kilowatts will supply the electricity for the power trains. Rapid recharging using renewable electricity will take place while the ferries disembark and embark their passengers and vehicles at each end. Each vessel will also have auxiliary diesel engines installed for back-up and general redundancy.
The shoreside charging equipment will also be supplied by Damen. A leader in this field, this will be the fourth time that Damen has provided this service, the first also being in Canada, in 2021, to support two hybrid Damen ferries delivered to the Ministry of Transportation, Ontario. These were followed by projects in Copenhagen, Denmark, and Dordrecht, the Netherlands.
The four vessels are scheduled to begin operations by 2027 with two vessels each on the routes connecting Nanaimo Harbour and Gabriola Island, and Campbell River and Quadra Island.