This is BC Ferries' potential new ship design for Metro Vancouver to Vancouver Island

Preliminary conceptual artistic rendering of the New Major Vessels. (BC Ferries)

BC Ferries has provided a first glimpse of what its future new large ships, serving the major routes linking Metro Vancouver with Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, could look like.

Today, the ferry corporation released two artistic renderings of its “New Major Vessels” program, which could see the order of up to seven of these large ships. This includes six ships for replacing aging vessels and a potential net gain of one vessel.

The existing vessels that will be replaced each have the capacity for between 250 and 310 vehicles and 1,200 and 1,500 passengers. These are mainly the existing C-class vessels built between the late 1970s and early 1980s, such as the Queen of Alberni, Queen of Coquitlam, Queen of Cowichan, Queen of Oak Bay, and Queen of Surrey.

The new vessels will offer a net capacity to help accommodate future growth, as they will each carry up to 360 standard-sized vehicles and 2,100 passengers. This is roughly the same capacity as BC Ferries’ current largest ships — the Spirit of Vancouver Island and the Spirit of British Columbia.

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The artistic renderings suggest the vessels could consist of two car decks and three passenger decks, with each passenger deck also featuring outdoor terraces towards the front and end of the ship. There is also a partially protected outdoor deck along the sides of the ship on the third passenger deck.

Preliminary conceptual artistic rendering of the New Major Vessels. (BC Ferries)

Moreover, these large ships will be battery-hybrid vessels, with diesel engines capable of using bio- and renewable fuels, and the capability to convert to full battery-electric operations when shore-based charging infrastructure is made available.

BC Ferries states the use of a single vessel design type enables standardization for enhanced operational flexibility and simplified maintenance procedures. The basic design of these new vessels is by Norwegian naval architectural firm LMG Marin AS.

Videos posted to YouTube by BC Ferries earlier this month also show a small-scale model of the new ship design being tested in simulation tanks to determine resistance, propulsion, and course-keeping ability, including the turning radius and stability during zig-zag maneuvers. This work helped design the vessel build and hull structure.

These new ships will specifically serve the major routes of Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay, Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay, and Horseshoe Bay-Langdale.

“The New Major Vessels program is the largest part of our capital plan to modernize and transform the ferry experience in British Columbia,” said Nicolas Jimenez, president and CEO of BC Ferries, in a statement.

“These vessels – greener, more efficient and standardized – represent the future of ferry travel in our province. They will significantly increase daily capacity, provide an enhanced customer experience, improve reliability, and reduce environmental impacts.”

The ferry corporation began the procurement bidding process today for these new vessels, starting with the Request for Supplier Qualification (RFSQ) stage, which will close on March 22. Shortlisted shipyards will be invited to submit their detailed proposals in the Request for Proposal (RFP) stage, which is currently expected to take place in Summer 2024.

The first ship from the New Major Vessels program is expected to enter service in 2029.

BC Ferries first publicly announced in 2018 its plan to replace the aging C-class vessels, with the first vessel arriving in 2024, but this program was delayed due to the pandemic. These would be the ferry corporation’s largest new vessel acquisitions since the introduction of the three Coastal-class ferries between 2007 and 2008.

In December 2023, the ferry corporation also began the procurement process for acquiring four additional Island Class battery-hybrid vessels, which will grow this minor class of vessels to 11 ships.

The forthcoming order of up to seven large ships would be BC Ferries’ second class of battery-hybrid vessels after the Island Class.

BC Ferries’ Queen of Oak Bay, one of five C-class vessels in the fleet. (Kam Abbott/Flickr)

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