The Salish-class vessels are four intermediate-capacity

ferries A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water tax ...

operated by

BC Ferries British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry ...

and were built in 2016 at Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. in

Gdańsk Gdańsk ( , also ; ; csb, Gduńsk;Stefan Ramułt, ''Słownik języka pomorskiego, czyli kaszubskiego'', Kraków 1893, Gdańsk 2003, ISBN 83-87408-64-6. , Johann Georg Theodor Grässe, ''Orbis latinus oder Verzeichniss der lateinischen Benen ...

, Poland. They were the first dual-fuel powered vessels in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

service, capable of using

liquified natural gas Liquefied natural gas (LNG) is natural gas (predominantly methane, CH4, with some mixture of ethane, C2H6) that has been cooled down to liquid form for ease and safety of non-pressurized storage or transport. It takes up about 1/600th the volu ...

diesel oil Diesel fuel , also called diesel oil, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a result of compression of the inlet air and t ...

to operate. ''Salish Orca'' entered service on the Comox–Powell River route in May 2017. ''Salish Eagle'' entered service on the Tsawwassen–Southern Gulf Islands route in June 2017. ''Salish Raven'' entered service for the Southern Gulf Islands on August 3, 2017. These vessels replaced and .

Description

The four Salish-class vessels, ''Salish Eagle'', ''Salish Orca'', ''Salish Raven'' and ''Salish Heron'', have a

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

of and all measure and max . Salish-class vessels are

long overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, an ...

and

between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the stern ...

. The ferries have a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy *Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy **Laser beam *Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized grou ...

of . They are powered by dual-fuel engines capable of using

(LNG) or

diesel fuel Diesel fuel , also called diesel oil, is any liquid fuel specifically designed for use in a diesel engine, a type of internal combustion engine in which fuel ignition takes place without a spark as a result of compression of the inlet air and t ...

to operate. The engines are rated at . They were the first vessels in

to be powered by LNG. They have a maximum speed of . Each ship has two car decks. They have capacity for 600 passengers and crew and 138 vehicles measuring . The ferries have several amenities aboard including a cafeteria, a gift shop and areas for children and pets.

Vessels

Construction and career

Constructed by Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. in

, Poland, the three original vessels of the Salish class were ordered as replacements for the older and . ''Salish Orca'' was the first completed, in November 2016, and entered service on May 15, 2017. ''Salish Eagle'' was completed in February 2017 and entered service that June. ''Salish Raven'' was completed in April 2017 and entered service ahead of schedule on August 3, 2017, after ''Queen of Nanaimo'' had significant mechanical issues preventing the ship from continued service. ''Salish Raven'' and ''Salish Eagle'' sail on the Southern Gulf Islands–Tsawwassen route. ''Sailish Orca'' sails on the Powell River–Comox route. On November 1, 2019, Remontowa Shipbuilding signed a contract with BC Ferries to build the fourth Salish-class vessel, intended to replace the on the Swartz Bay-Outer Gulf Island run (route 5A). Construction for the fourth Salish-class vessel began on February 4, 2020. The ship was planned to complete sea trials in 2021 before arriving in British Columbia to be outfitted and ultimately enter service in 2022. On March 23, 2021, BC Ferries announced that the name for the fourth Salish-class vessel would be ''Salish Heron''. ''Salish Heron'', started its journey to British Columbia on December 22, 2021 from Gdansk, Poland bound for

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Victoria (Australia), a state of the Commonwealth of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, provincial capital of British Columbia, Canada * Victoria (mythology), Roman goddess of Victory * Victoria, Seychelle ...

. The journey also included a stopover in Manzanillo in

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

. The ship finally arrived in Victoria on March 3, 2022. The vessel entered service on May 6, 2022 after having its artwork painted to its hull. Shortly after entering service, the Salish-class vessels experienced several problems; the first was that there was no

galley A galley is a type of ship that is propelled mainly by oars. The galley is characterized by its long, slender hull, shallow draft, and low freeboard (clearance between sea and gunwale). Virtually all types of galleys had sails that could be used ...

ventilation system and at times the cafeteria's kitchen would reach extreme temperatures, making it unsafe for crews to work in the kitchen. In early 2018, all three Salish-class vessels had a galley ventilation system installed, fixing the issue. The ships' elevators and issues with refuelling were problems; both issues were resolved when the ships were sent to local shipyards for repairs. On November 7, 2019, ''Salish Raven'' suffered a malfunction in one of its propellers at roughly 9:30am after leaving

Pender Island Pender Island ( Saanich: ) is one of the Southern Gulf Islands located in the Gulf of Georgia, British Columbia, Canada. Pender Island is approximately in area and is home to about 2,250 permanent residents, as well as a large seasonal populati ...

. A

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, su ...

arrived to aid the ferry and all its passengers were disembarked by 1:30pm. The vessel resumed sailing later that day.

References

{{BC Ferries Ships of BC Ferries Ferry classes