Americas News
Canadian Operator Orders 2 LNG Powered Ferries
Canada's Seaspan Ferries Corporation (SFC) on Wednesday announced it has ordered two liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered new-build ferries from Turkish yard Sedef Shipyard of Istanbul.
SFC said construction of the two, 148.9 metre ferries will commence early next year, with both vessels expected to be in operation by late 2016.
"One of Seaspan's Core Values is care for the environment and we are committed to ensuring the conservation of Canadian oceans and waterways," said Steve Roth, Vice President, Seaspan Ferries Corporation.
"These new, technologically advanced ferries will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions significantly compared to current alternatives while ensuring the highest level of efficiency, performance and reliability."
Seaspan CEO Jonathan Whitworth said the decision to have the vessels built by a non-Seaspan shipyard "was not made lightly" and was made based on capacity.
"We are laser-focused on successfully delivering our multi-year, multi-billion dollar project to build vessels for the men and women of the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Coast Guard under the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS)," he said.
"For the next five to seven years, our new vessel building capacity will be solely dedicated to the NSPS Non-Combat vessels."
Last year, fellow British Columbia-based ferry company BC Ferries announced its plans to build three dual-fuel diesel- and LNG-powered ferries, noting at the time it could have cut its $121 million bunker bill for 2012 in half if it had been using LNG.
