BC Ferries' new Salish Class vessel, Salish Orca, stopped into Campbell River yesterday afternoon while conducting sea trials.
The Salish Orca is conducting a series of sea trials as part of operational training and to verify the interface with docks at many BC Ferries terminals, BC Ferries says. It pulled into Campbell River's ferry terminal before heading to Quathiaski Cove.
Over the next year, BC Ferries will be retiring the Queen of Nanaimo and the Queen of Burnaby from its fleet. These two vessels were built in 1964 and 1965 respectively, and will have served their communities for over 50 years by the time they are retired.
To replace these vessels, BC Ferries will be introducing the Salish Class Ferries; the Salish Orca, the Salish Eagle, and the Salish Raven. These new vessels are capable of running as dual-fuel on either natural gas or ultra-low Sulphur diesel. BC Ferries says its use of natural gas for the Salish Class vessels results in the reduction of an estimated 9,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent per year, which is the same as taking 1,900 passenger vehicles off the road annually.