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News: Davie holds keel-laying ceremony for LNG ferry

LNG Industry - February 27, 2015

 

Davie, Canada’s largest shipbuilder, celebrated the keel-laying ceremony for the first LNG-powered ferry to be built in North America.

The ceremony market the beginning of the hull assembly for MV Armand-Imbeau II, the first of two sister ships under construction at Davie for the Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ).

LNG propulsion

The two ferries for the Tadoussac-Baie-Sainte-Catherine route are built for year-round navigation on the Saguenay Fjord. Measuring 92 m in length, each vessel will include eight rows on two decks, enabling the transport of up to 110 vehicles. LNG engines will power the ferries.

The MV Armand-Imbeau II is scheduled for delivery in the autumn of 2015, followed by the MV Jos-Deschênes II, four months later.

Advanced technologies

Alan Bowen, Davie’s CEO, commented: “We are very proud of the progress made. It is Davie’s ability to constantly deliver on time and to budget that lead to Davie being voted as North America’s number one shipyard at the Lloyd’s List North American Maritime Awards 2015, last week in Houston. Ferry construction is and has always been core business for Davie. The STQ ferries incorporate many of the technologies in which we specialise for example LNG propulsion, electrical thruster systems and high ice-class hulls.”

Jean D’Amour, Minister for Transport and the Implementation of the Maritime Strategy, added: “With the upcoming unveiling of the Maritime Strategy, this ceremony has a very particular significance for my government. With the construction of two ships for the Tadoussac crossing, the STQ continues the process of renewing its fleet, using an efficient green technology, which will allow users to broaden their experience on board its ferries. Chantier Davie provides its expertise for the benefit of the whole community, an expertise that will largely be used within the context of the very first Quebec Maritime Strategy.”

Maritime transportation

Jocelyn Fortier, CEO of STQ, explained that the two new ferries will allow for an improved offering of crossing services. “The two current ferries for the Tadoussac crossing, put into service in the [19]80s, marked a new era, mainly with the activation of the gangway from the wheelhouse. Even in 2015, 35 years later we are breaking new ground with the construction of two ferries with green technology and increased capacity. They will be the first LNG-propelled ferries built in North America. This technology and several other innovations on board will enable the Société des traversiers du Québec to be on the cutting edge of the maritime transportation of passengers in North America.”

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