Spirit of British Columbia
British Columbian passenger transport provider BC Ferries has awarded the conversion of its two largest ferries, Spirit of Vancouver Island and Spirit of British Columbia, to Remontowa Ship Repair Yard S.A. of Gdansk, Poland. The competitive bidding process resulted in a contract totalling $140 million to conduct the Spirit-Class mid-life upgrades (MLUs), which includes the conversion of both vessels to dual-fuel so they can operate on Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG).
Remontowa Ship Repair Yard, the largest ship repair yard in Poland, is well experienced and proven with LNG fuelled ships.
“Last fiscal year, we spent approximately $118 million on diesel fuel of which the two Spirit Class vessels consumed approximately 16 per cent,” said Mark Wilson, BC Ferries’ Vice President of Engineering. “The conversion of the two largest ships in the fleet along with the three new dual-fuel Salish-Class vessels currently under construction will go a long way to help with fare affordability for our customers as LNG costs significantly less than marine diesel.”
“In addition to the financial benefits of LNG, BC Ferries is committed to converting to more environmentally-friendly fuel sources to improve our environmental footprint,” said Wilson. “By utilizing LNG to fuel the Spirit-Class vessels, we expect to reduce CO2 emissions by 12,000 tonnes annually, which is the equivalent of taking approximately 2500 vehicles off the road per year.”
In order to help make the project financially viable, BC Ferries pursued funding under incentive programs to help offset any incremental capital costs associated with the use of LNG.
The company has signed an agreement, subject to certain conditions, to receive up to $10 million contribution from FortisBC Energy Inc. as part of the Natural Gas for Transportation (NGT) incentive funding. This funding will be used to partially offset the capital cost of converting our two Spirit Class vessels to dual fuel capability.
Early 2015, BC Ferries awarded a long-term contract to FortisBC to supply LNG to fuel its three new intermediate class vessels that are currently under construction. The first ship is scheduled to enter service in late 2016, the second vessel by early 2017 and the third ship by mid-2017.
Planned renewal of navigation equipment, propulsion equipment components including rudders, steering system, bow thrusters and propeller blades will also occur during the MLUs. Installation of LED lighting and more efficient air conditioning equipment will reduce energy consumption.
BC Ferries is planning for the Spirit of British Columbia to be the first ship through the MLU and LNG conversion process and commence actual conversion from the fall of 2017 through the spring of 2018, and work on the Spirit of Vancouver Island is set for the following year, from the fall of 2018 through the spring of 2019. This schedule will allow for these two vessels, the largest in the fleet, to be in operation during the summer months when traffic is at its peak.
The Spirit of British Columbia was built in 1993 and the Spirit of Vancouver Island was built in 1994. BC Ferries plans to operate these two vessels for another 25 years. Both ships service the Tsawwassen – Swartz Bay run, the busiest route in the fleet.
Under contract to the Province of British Columbia, BC Ferries is the service provider responsible for the delivery of safe, efficient and dependable ferry service along coastal British Columbia.
(Source: British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.)
