Chantier Davie Canada Inc. (“Davie”) announced it has entered into a contract with La Société des traversiers du Québec (“STQ”) to construct two new dual-fuel LNG ferries. The two dual-fuel LNG Ro-Pax ferries will operate on the St. Lawrence River on the Tadoussac-Baie-Sainte-Catherine route and are scheduled to enter service in 2015. At 92,0 m long, each vessel will have over 625 lane meters across two decks, allowing the transport of over 115 regular vehicles or 10 heavy transport vehicles.
Independently or in partnership with others, STQ provides service to 13 pairs of river-crossings across the St. Lawrence and Saguenay rivers, and operates 13 ferries to carry more than 5 million passengers annually. The new vessels, to be acquired at a cost of $125 million, will replace MV Armand-Imbeau and MV Jos-Deschênes, which have serviced the Tadoussac to Baie Sainte Catherine crossing since early 1980.
Alan Bowen, CEO of Davie commented “This project has been a long time in the planning and we are very excited to now begin construction. The dual-fuel LNG engines are a perfect fit with Davie’s specialization in advanced propulsion and vessel maneuvering systems. The ferries will provide an environmentally friendly solution for the province of Quebec for many years to come”.