Digby Courier - November 24, 2014
Saint John and then Digby will be the first ports of call for the new ferry expected to start operating on the Bay of Fundy run sometime in 2015.
Transport Canada spokesman Ben Stanford confirmed by email today that the ferry formally known as the Blue Star Ithaki will head for Saint John, New Brunswick, when it leaves the Azores where it is currently fuelling up.
Crew from the transit voyage will get off in Saint John and workers will remove protective sheathing installed to protect the ferry during its transatlantic voyage.
The ferry will then stop in Digby to take on equipment for the engine refit, which will take place in Halifax.
Stanford said earlier this week that the ship's engines will undergo a 72,000-hour overhaul and conversion from heavy fuel to marine diesel oil.
He said crews will also carry out minor modifications to ensure the vessel complies with Canadian safety regulations, and is compatible with existing shore-based infrastructure and for operation in the Bay of Fundy.
The engine overhaul needs to be completed by the original equipment manufacturer and the modification work will be subject to a future tendering process.
Stanford didn’t provide a timeline for the boat’s arrival but its voyage can be tracked online at vesselfinder.com ormarinetraffic.com. On these sites it is listed under the transit name of Canada2014.
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Digby Courier - November 22, 2014
The Canadian government has bought the ferry to replace the Princess of Acadia on the Digby – Saint John run. It left Greece in mid-November, passed through the Straits of Gibraltar on Nov. 21 and as of 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 22 it was headed west across the wide open ocean.
A spokesperson with Transport Canada wasn’t able to say by press time where exactly in Canada the vessel is headed.
He did say once the ship gets here, its engines will undergo a 72,000-hour overhaul and conversion from heavy fuel to marine diesel oil.
He said they will also carry out minor modifications to ensure the vessel complies with Canadian safety regulations, and is compatible with existing shore-based infrastructure and for operation in the Bay of Fundy.
The engine overhaul needs to be completed by the original equipment manufacturer and the modification work will be subject to a future tendering process.
The vessel is expected to be in service in 2015.
The ferry’s progress can be observed on ship traffic websites like vesselfinder.com or marinetraffic.com when it is near shore. It is listed under the name Canada2014.
It is expected to be near the Azores by 6 p.m. on Nov. 22.
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Ship & Bunker - November 21, 2014
Canada's Seaspan Ferries Corporation (SFC) on Wednesday announced it has ordered two liquefied natural gas (LNG) powered new-build ferries from Turkish yard Sedef Shipyard of Istanbul.
SFC said construction of the two, 148.9 metre ferries will commence early next year, with both vessels expected to be in operation by late 2016.
"One of Seaspan's Core Values is care for the environment and we are committed to ensuring the conservation of Canadian oceans and waterways," said Steve Roth, Vice President, Seaspan Ferries Corporation.
"These new, technologically advanced ferries will reduce our greenhouse gas emissions significantly compared to current alternatives while ensuring the highest level of efficiency, performance and reliability."
Seaspan CEO Jonathan Whitworth said the decision to have the vessels built by a non-Seaspan shipyard "was not made lightly" and was made based on capacity.
"We are laser-focused on successfully delivering our multi-year, multi-billion dollar project to build vessels for the men and women of the Royal Canadian Navy and Canadian Coast Guard under the National Shipbuilding Procurement Strategy (NSPS)," he said.
"For the next five to seven years, our new vessel building capacity will be solely dedicated to the NSPS Non-Combat vessels."
Last year, fellow British Columbia-based ferry company BC Ferries announced its plans to build three dual-fuel diesel- and LNG-powered ferries, noting at the time it could have cut its$121 million bunker bill for 2012 in half if it had been using LNG.
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Passenger Ship Technology 4th Quarter 2014 - November 17, 2014
The use of LNG as fuel is a pivotal part of British Columbia Ferry Services’ strategy, with its chief executive and president Mike Corrigan calling it a game-changer.
Earlier this year the British Columbia-based ferry operator announced the construction of three newbuilds that can be operated on dual fuel - LNG and diesel - and the conversion of two Spirit class ferries.
Mr Corrigan told Passenger Ship Technology: “We call this a game-changer for BC Ferries, as after labour our biggest operating cost is diesel fuel. We believe LNG is the fuel of the future.” Indeed, he said that the strategy was for all future newbuilds to deploy LNG as fuel.
Remontowa shipyard in Poland won the bid to build the new vessels, which will be 105m long, and handle 145 vehicles and 600 passengers. They are still at the design stage, the aim being to cut steel at the start of next year. The first two are due for delivery towards the end of 2016, while the third will be delivered at the start of 2017. Explaining why BC Ferries chose Remontowa, Mr Corrigan said: “All the best shipyards in the world were interested. Remontowa came through on a number of fronts: workmanship, price and direct experience of dealing with LNG.”
Highlighting the benefits of using LNG, he explained that it was abundantly available in in British Columbia, leading to a price that he described as “quite low.” Importantly, the logistics infrastructure is already in place: there are established plants to manufacture the LNG and a distribution system in place to deliver it to the ferries. “Currently we refuel our vessels two or three times a week with trucks and we will do this with the new dual-fuel ferries,” Mr Corrigan said. While the new vessels will be dual fuel, he said that 99 per cent of the time they would operate on natural gas. The diesel is there as a back-up, in case of any problems in terms of the supply of LNG, or if the cost of natural gas was to increase.
The two Spirit class ferries to be retrofitted with LNG - Spirit of Vancouver Island and Spirit of British Columbia - are expected to be ready in 2017 and 2018. BC Ferries is in the process of getting final approval from the British Columbia Ferry Commission to retrofit them.
“We are retrofitting them obviously for the environmental side, but also the financial savings are huge, which keeps fares down,” said Mr Corrigan. “The use of LNG, plus greater hull efficiency, means that we will save CA$9.2 million (US$8.3 million) compared to the current cost of operating these vessels.” The two ferries are BC Ferries’ largest vessels and the biggest consumers of fuel.
BC Ferries has a defined strategy when it comes to deciding about retrofits: a refit needs to take place in the vessel’s mid point of life. This is the case not just for potential LNG retrofits, but for refits generally. Mr Corrigan explained: “These two Spirit class ferries were built in the early 1990s, so they are reaching the mid point of their lives. This is the best time to carry out conversions, as we still get payback for buying their new engines. If the vessel is too far along in life, it would not be worth replacing its engines. And if the vessel is too new, it has not fully depreciated its current engines, so there will be a financial penalty.”
In terms of retrofitting other vessels in BC Ferries’ fleet, he said that the company would continue to look at this, but reiterated that this needed to be at the right point in the vessels’ lives.
While it is too early to disclose the design details of the planned retrofits, Mr Corrigan was able to say that BC Ferries was looking at two options when it comes to placing the LNG tanks. They will either go in the large void spaces to be found in the ferries’ hulls, or on the outside decks. This decision forms part of the evaluation that BC Ferries is in the process of carrying out.
When it comes to expanding and developing its fleet, BC Ferries is not stopping with LNG newbuilds and retrofits. It is currently building a cable ferry to serve the Vancouver Island to Denman Island route. Vancouver Shipyards is building the ferry, which should be in service by late summer next year.
The advantages of replacing a traditional ferry with a cable ferry are numerous. “It will deliver the same level of service from a safety and operational liability standpoint for half the amount that it is currently costing us. It will give us savings of CA$2 million (US$1.7 million) a year. These are significant savings, especially as we are really concerned about being as efficient as we can be and keeping our fares as affordable as possible. This is the way to do it and be innovative.
“Some people might not consider this to be innovative, but from our stand point it is. It will be the first ship we have that is a cable ferry,” Mr Corrigan said.
He added that the route was right for the operation of a cable ferry, as it is only 1.9km, with sheltered waters. The company has prepared thoroughly by carrying out engineering work and studies leading up to the final decision to construct such a ferry. Asked if the introduction of the cable ferry could spark the launch of more ferries of this type, Mr Corrigan explained: “This is the only route we have at the moment which we see as having potential for a cable ferry. That said, there may be an opportunity in the future if we look at introducing different routes and services.”
The construction of the Intermediate class ferries is not just significant for their use of LNG. They are also an important step towards BC Ferries’ goal of standardising its fleet. The company currently has 17 classes of ships spanning 35 vessels, but wants to reduce this to just five classes.
This strategy was sparked with the delivery of BC Ferries’ three Coastal class vessels in 2008. Reflecting on their introduction, Mr Corrigan said: “The goal was to have a new, major class of ship that could operate on all of our main routes. Up until that point our ferries had only been capable of sailing on certain routes. That was our first attempt at standardisation and now we want to take it to next level with our Intermediate class. The majority of our vessels are in the Intermediate class range and that is why we feel we have such a huge opportunity here. We can have two sizes of ferry that are interchangeable and from the same hull design: a 145 car and an 85 car ferry.”
Highlighting the other advantages of inter-operability, Mr Corrigan said: “This strategy is all about more efficient operations and safety. If captains can move from one bridge to another, and engineers from one engineroom to another, then there are fewer risks from a safety stand point and lower training costs.”
Indeed the new Intermediate class ferries will use the company’s new standardised bridge design. “This is beneficial from a safety point of view, as our captains can get used to having the radars in the same place in every vessel and having all the other gears in the same place.”
Highlighting yet more benefits, he added: “They will be much easier to operate and, from a reliability standpoint, it will be much easier to move from one route to another. Right now if we do this, we have to train the crew on the new route for a period of time before we can operate it. But if the vessels are interchangeable, it will be much simpler.”
He said that five was the optimum number of classes to have in the fleet. However, this is not something that will be achieved quickly. “This is a medium-term strategy. It is a vision and it takes a while to get there, but if we do not start now we are never going to get there.”
These different policies need to be viewed in a wider context, as underpinning them all are BC Ferries’ customers and the company’s role in the life of the people of British Columbia. Mr Corrigan said: “We really want people to understand the role of BC Ferries in BC. The Government sets the policies and our job is to run our ferries as safely and efficiently as we can and with the best customer service. Ferries are always a hot topic in BC, as there are probably close to a million people dependent on our services. So they are always going to be a big part of life. We want people to understand our role and what we should be held accountable for: safety, reliability, on-time performance and customer service.”
He summed up: “All the things that a world class ferry operator should do is what we are trying to do each day.”
In his role as chief executive of BC Ferrries, Mr Corrigan sees it as crucial to create strong partnerships with other ferry operators in order to deal with current challenges and issues. A demonstration of this is that he was this year’s president of Interferry and hosted the trade association’s annual conference in Vancouver.
“Ferry operators are working together more. You see it at Interferry. A lot of the business issues are the same regardless of where you work, and the influence that IMO and the EU have on legislation will affect ferry operators. We need to make sure we get the best bang for our buck and how we do this is through the Interferry organisation.”
Despite the current challenges, he is optimistic about the future. “We see the economy turning around after all the turmoil and I am encouraged to see traffic coming back on our major routes.” But he warned: “Saying that, you never know when the economy will go south, and with 185,000 sailings a year you have got to keep your eye on the ball.”
The last time Passenger Ship Technology spoke to Mr Corrigan for its ferry operator profile was at the end of 2012, when he had been chief executive of the company for a year. After nearly three years at the helm of BC Ferries, what does he see as his greatest achievement? The answer comes instantly: “Our SailSafe culture safety programme. It has won three major awards and helped change the relationship at BC Ferries with employees and also the union, as well as helping us drive customer service.”
He finishes with a strong message: “I firmly believe that if you take care of safety everything else will take care of itself.” PST
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Chronicle Herald - November 15, 2014
Tancook Island, Englishtown vessels highlight problems with floundering fleet
As his government tries to find solutions for ailing ferries that service Englishtown and the Tancook Islands, Transportation and Infrastructure Renewal Minister Geoff MacLellan says his department is examining its entire fleet.
That fleet, which services seven runs, includes nine vessels, two of which are “floating replacements in the 30-year range,” MacLellan said Friday.
“That’s the lifespan. We’re looking at a number of the options for all of our routes.”
Those options include outright replacement of some of the ferries, but MacLellan said that would be a costly prospect. The minister said the ferries cost “in the tens of millions, in most cases,” depending on their size and service requirements.
“We’re not getting any indication that we’re on a very short time frame for any of the nine that we have,” he said.
In most cases, the ferry services collect limited revenue when measured against the investment, said MacLellan. The conversation is slightly different when looking at the ferries serving Tancook and the Digby islands because they are essential transportation routes, he said.
“We have to get it right because people rely on them.”
A stakeholders meeting is happening soon to discuss the Tancook ferry and a feasibility study is underway for the Englishtown ferry. That study, which MacLellan said he hopes to have the results of in early 2015, is looking at traffic volumes, net operating costs of the ferry and comparing that with potential costs of a bridge.
Victoria County Warden Bruce Morrison said his municipality’s biggest concern is dependable transportation links; the area is open to alternatives to the ferry, he said.
“It’s a frustration level with the service; it’s either out of service for maintenance or because of weather. That’s the issue.”
Inconsistent service is an inconvenience because half the municipality’s population lives north of Cape Smokey, but it also has an impact on businesses that rely on tourists and travellers to go that route, said Morrison.
MacLellan said his department needs a more comprehensive plan for the future because what’s in place is “not sustainable as the fleet ages.”
“We’ve got to create a situation where we have these services viable and operating, so whatever that takes at this point we’re going to do.”
Read full article here.
The Transportation Safety Board has launched a campaign to raise awareness about their SECURITAS program with industry stakeholders.
The SECURITAS program enables individuals to report-in confidence-concerns they may have about safety in the marine, pipeline, rail and air modes of transportation. The incidents and potentially unsafe acts or conditions you report through SECURITAS are not always reported through other channels.
To view their materials and learn more, please click here.
Welcome aboard to CFA's newest member: City of Toronto!
The Canadian Transportation Agency has released an updated Code of Practice: Ferry Accessibility for Persons with Disabilities.
CFA provided insight and feedback during this development and review.
Access this updated document here.
Coast Reporter - October 30, 2014
BC Ferries (BCF) has agreed to extend its free student fare program to include children and youth travelling to participate in organized sports on the Lower Mainland.
The decision follows years of lobbying by the Southern Sunshine Coast ferry advisory committee (FAC), particularly by former chair and current member Jakob Knaus.
“It will be a great relief to young families, because team participants had to pay the adult fare if they were over 11 years old, half the fare if under,” Knaus told Coast Reporter Monday. “It shows that strong advocacy and perseverance and a good case are often rewarded.”
Knaus was present at the FAC meeting in the District of Sechelt offices on Oct. 24 when BCF vice president of customer services Corrine Storey, appearing by audio link, said the company had decided to move forward with the proposal.
“We think it’s a really good one,” Storey said, adding that BCF would honour the intent of an agreement presented by Knaus in Horseshoe Bay last month.
In response, Knaus said he hoped to see the program in place by the end of the year.
“This proposal has now been accepted in principle by BC Ferries, but obviously administrative wrinkles have to be sorted out with the teams, BCF, the school district and us, if we can help,” he said after the meeting.
Bruce Bauman, the Sunshine Coast Regional District’s acting general manager of community services, described the breakthrough as “huge.”
“This will substantially assist our youth and sports teams. It’s a huge burden relieved from our parents,” Bauman said.
The discount will benefit “hockey, soccer, baseball, figure skating, you name it,” he said, noting that for minor hockey alone, up to 150 children per week travel on the ferry when each team has one game on the Lower Mainland. Some teams, he added, travel off-Coast more than once a week, increasing the total number.
Knaus said the issue goes back 20 years to a Ministry of Transportation decision to exclude both the Upper and Lower Sunshine Coast from youth discount programs available to most ferry-dependent communities south of Port Hardy.
“I do not know the reason, but it might be that we are not an island, or possibly we had a relatively large population,” he said. “I have advocated that our young people should be treated the same as those of the other ferry-dependent communities.”
When BCF first attempted to cut the 6:20 a.m. Sunday sailing several years ago, Knaus said he raised the issue of student discounts at a public meeting in Gibsons.
“I brought up the question whether the community was prepared to make a small sacrifice in upping our fares to allow free travel for school-based outings. All participants agreed and we started to negotiate with BCF for free travel for school-based outings.”
A half per cent increase in fares was implemented in April 2010. When it became clear that only a portion of the funds collected was needed to finance the student discount program, the FAC proposed using the additional fare revenue to extend the program to junior sport team travel.
BCF public affairs manager Darin Guenette said Wednesday that, based on rough estimates, it does not appear the cost of the new and existing discount programs will exceed the amount collected through the half per cent fare increase.
The discount will not apply to vehicles or accompanying adults.
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Transport Canada has released an updated Ship Safety Bulletin re: Ebola Virus Disease - SSB No.: 06/2014.
To view, please click here.