Damen Shipyards Group has launched Island Class 9 for Canada’s BC Ferries at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania, marking another milestone in its Island Class construction programme, according to Damen Shipyards Group.
The vessel entered the water on 19 November at the Galati yard in Romania. The launch follows an earlier stage in October, when the yard completed the grand block assembly of Island Class 10.
Both Island Class 9 and Island Class 10 are part of an order for four ferries, placed after the delivery of Island Class vessels 1-6 between 2019 and 2021.
The four ferries under construction are based on the Damen 8117 (E3) Electric Ferry design. Damen is building the vessels to be fully electric-ready and is fitting them with diesel-electric hybrid propulsion.
BC Ferries plans to operate the ferries on 100% electrical energy once the necessary shoreside charging infrastructure is in place.
After delivery, Damen will continue to support the new vessels from its Service Hub in Victoria, in line with the support it already provides for BC Ferries’ existing Island Class ships. Once they enter service, Island Class vessels 7-10 are planned to operate on routes linking Nanaimo with Gabriola Island and Campbell River with Quadra Island. Each ferry is designed to carry up to 47 vehicles and 390 passengers.
Damen Shipyards Group is a privately held Dutch shipbuilding, defence and engineering group headquartered in Gorinchem in the Netherlands. The company designs and builds a wide range of vessels, including workboats, patrol craft, cargo ships, dredgers, offshore vessels and fast ferries, and also carries out maintenance and repair activities through a network of shipyards and related companies worldwide.
BC Ferries is the operating name of British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., a regulated, independently managed and publicly owned company that provides passenger and vehicle ferry services on the coast of the Canadian province of British Columbia.
