By
Rebecca Gibson |
The BC Ferries Commissioner has approved BC Ferries’ application to convert its two largest vessels – Spirit of Vancouver Island and Spirit of British Columbia – to dual-fuel to save around CAD$9.2 million per year over their remaining 27-year lifecycles.
Submitted earlier this year, the application also includes plans to modify the ferries’ hulls and carry out mid-life upgrades to reduce fuel consumption and save around CAD$9.2 million per year over their respective remaining 27-year lifecycles.
“This is a huge step forward to help address fare affordability, as using LNG will greatly reduce our operating expenses on these two vessels,” said Mark Wilson, BC Ferries’ vice president of engineering. “LNG also offers significant environmental benefits, cutting carbon emissions by about 25%, sulphur oxides by almost 100% and nitrogen oxides by 85%, which translates into much cleaner exhaust emissions than diesel fuel.”
The Spirit of Vancouver Island’s LNG conversion and mid-life upgrade is to take place from autumn 2016 to spring 2017, while the Spirit of British Columbia will be converted from autumn 2017 to spring 2018.
BC Ferries will conduct a worldwide procurement process to select a prime contractor and the dual-fuel propulsion equipment supplier. The company plans to make a selection not later than the second quarter of 2015.
In addition to converting the two Spirit Class vessels to LNG, BC Ferries is also building three, dual-fuel intermediate class vessels scheduled for delivery in 2016 and 2017. These ships will operate in the Southern Gulf Islands and on the Powell River – Comox route.