Nine pre-qualified shipyards responded to a Request for Pre-Qualification. An RFP has now been issued to invite the following five pre-qualified shipyards to participate further in the procurement process to design and build the vessels: Fiskerstrand Blrt As (Norway), Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft mbH & Co.KG (Germany), Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. (Poland), Seaspan Vancouver Shipyards Co. Ltd. (Canada), and Sefine Shipyard (Turkey).
In the RFP, BC Ferries has stipulated that the three vessels should operate as dual-fuel capable, running on LNG or Marine Diesel Oil (MDO). The RFP closes at the end of February 2014 and after a detailed evaluation of the proposals received, BC Ferries expects to award a contract to the successful bidder in the spring of 2014. The two 145-vehicle ferries are expected to enter service in 2016 and the 125- vehicle ferry is expected to be in service in 2017.
“As we embark on this next phase of our newbuild program, these vessels will set a new standard of efficiency for the fleet,” said Mark Wilson, BC Ferries’ Vice President of Engineering. “We expect to operate these new intermediate class ferries with LNG, which will reduce our fuel costs, and in turn help reduce the upward pressure on fares. In addition, we expect to reduce our environmental footprint with a cleaner fuel source.”
Source: BC Ferries
