The following is the text of a news release from BC Ferries:
(VICTORIA, British Columbia) — Salish Eagle, BC Ferries newest vessel, arrived in British Columbia on Monday. The vessel took 38 days to travel 10,440 nautical miles from Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. in Gdansk, Poland.
This ship made its way to Ogden Point in Victoria, where the public could take exterior photos of the vessel Monday. Once Salish Eagle clears Canadian Customs and final inspections are complete, the vessel will be officially handed over to BC Ferries. On Tuesday, the ship will proceed to BC Ferries’ refit facility in Richmond to prepare for operational service. The vessel will move to Tsawwassen terminal in mid-April for crew training and familiarization, and to continue to ready the ship for regular operation.
“We are proud to welcome Salish Eagle, our second natural-gas-fueled ship, home to B.C. and into our fleet,” said Mark Wilson, BC Ferries’ vice president of rngineering. “The Salish class are well-built vessels that will help reduce our environmental footprint and our operating costs.”
The artwork created to adorn Salish Eagle, designed by Stz'uminus First Nation’s John Marston, will be applied on the ship here in B.C. The winter weather in Poland has temperatures below ideal for the application.
Salish Eagle will enter service on the Tsawwassen-Southern Gulf Islands route at the end of June. Sister ship Salish Orca, which arrived in January, will start service on the Comox-Powell River route late next month. Salish Raven, the third Salish-class vessel, will depart Poland for B.C. in April.
The 351-foot Salish-class ships will carry 145 vehicles and up to 600 passengers and crew. The vessels feature two car decks and have a service speed of 15.5 knots. Each ship is powered by three Wartsila 8L20DF engines. Gross tonnage of each ship is 8,728 tonnes.
