Damen Shipyards wins bid for four hybrid ferries from Canada
The passenger ferries “will be based on Damen’s double-ended Island-class RoRo 8117 E3 model.” The company mentions a battery capacity of 2 MWh but does not give any further details about the powertrain. They have room for up to 47 vehicles and 390 passengers. According to Damen, each vessel will be fitted with auxiliary diesel engines as backup.
Charging will take place “while the ferries disembark and embark their passengers and vehicles at each end,” Damen explains. It mentions that the vessels can fast charge, without giving any technical data. However, the company emphasises that it will be in charge of installing the necessary charging infrastructure and that it has offered this service in the past – namely in Canada, Denmark, and the Netherlands.
The ferries should launch in 2027. Two of them will connect Nanaimo Harbour and Gabriola Island; the others will run between Campbell River and Quadra Island.
“The new hybrid electric vessels will further standardise 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.”
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