Seaspan Ferries takes delivery of its first LNG ferry

Seaspan Ferries Corporation said the Seaspan Swift, the first of two new dual-fueled/hybrid (diesel, LNG and battery) ferries, has joined its fleet.

The new vessel, currently docked at the SFC Tilbury Terminal in Delta, arrived after an eight-week journey that spanned a total of 10,661 nautical miles following its construction at Sedef Shipyard in Istanbul, Turkey, SFC said in its statement on Friday.

In another first for the company, and with the assistance from VARD, FortisBC and Redwise, the Seaspan Swift was successfully bunkered using a tanker truck to deliver LNG to the vessel. This type of bunkering operation was the first of its kind in North America, the company said.

The 148.9-meter ferry, which can accommodate up to 59 trailers, will undergo a series of regulatory inspections and crew training programs throughout December before entering operation on January 2, 2017.

The Seaspan Swift, along with its sister ship the Seaspan Reliant, mark the first vessels added to SFC’s fleet since 2002. The Seaspan Reliant, SFC’s second dual-fuelled/hybrid ferry, nearing completion and undergoing testing and trials in Turkey, is expected to arrive in Tilbury early 2017.

Seaspan Ferries Corporation currently operates a fleet of seven ferries out of five terminals in British Columbia, and supplies more than 50 percent of all cargo to Vancouver Island.