Seaspan Ferries will add two new Liquid Natural Gas (LNG) Battery hybrid ferries, constructed by Damen Shipyards Gorinchem B.V. at their Mangalia Shipyard in Romania, to its fleet in 2021.
The company currently has two hybrid ferries, the Swift and the Reliant. Use of hybrid ferries has enabled the company to reduce greenhouse emissions for its drop-trailer service between its Mainland terminals and Vancouver Island.
Frank Butzelaar, CEO of Seaspan, said, “Within their first two years of service, our existing LNG hybrid vessels have operated with emission reductions of over 50% compared to traditional vessels; a large part of which is directly linked to the use of LNG fuel. … Expanding our fleet of LNG vessels will allow us to further expand our service offering and reduce emissions at the same time.”
The ships will be 149 meters in length with 209 cubic meter LNG energy storage and 2MWh battery capacity. Thrusters will be supplied by Schottel Ind. and the vessels will be classes by Bureau Veritas.