S-class ferry
Spirit of British Columbia
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| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators: | BC Ferries |
| Preceded by: | |
| Built: | 1992–1994 |
| In service: | 1993–present |
| Building: | 2 |
| Completed: | 2 |
| Active: | 2 |
| General characteristics | |
| Type: | Ferry |
| Tonnage: | 18,747 tonnes |
| Displacement: | 11,681 tonnes |
| Length: | 167.5 m (549 ft 6 in) |
| Beam: | 27.1 m (88 ft 11 in) |
| Draft: | 5 m (16 ft 5 in) |
| Depth: | 8 m (26 ft 3 in) |
| Installed power: | 21,394 hp (15,954 kW) |
| Propulsion: | 4 × MAN-B&W 6L 40/54 |
| Speed: | 19.5 knots (36.1 km/h) |
| Capacity: |
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S-class ferries (also known as the Spirit class or Super ferries) are RORO ferries operated by BC Ferries in British Columbia, Canada. They are the largest ferries in the BC Ferries fleet.
There are two Spirit-class ferries — Spirit of British Columbia (built 1993) and Spirit of Vancouver Island (built 1994). The vessels are largely the same in layout and characteristics and both ferries were built (using the same method) in separate parts by a variety of different shipbuilders.
The 200 ft (61.0 m) bow hull pieces were built at Allied Shipbuilders in North Vancouver, while the 340 ft (103.6 m) stern hull pieces were built at Yarrows Ltd. in Victoria. The pieces were joined in Esquimalt before being towed to Fraser Surrey Docks. There they were joined with the superstructure, which had been constructed in three pieces along the Fraser River in Delta. Once the superstructure was complete the ships were returned to Esquimalt for finishing touches. Each ship cost roughly $130 million and took two or three years to complete.
Spirit of British Columbia underwent extensive internal renovations in 2005 costing roughly $14 million. In January 2006, similar renovations on Spirit of Vancouver Island were completed.
As of March 24, 2016, BC Ferries has announced that the two Spirit-class vessels will be converted to operate on liquefied natural gas (LNG). The contract was awarded to Remontowa Ship repair Yard S.A. of Gdansk, Poland totalling $140 million. The conversion will allow the vessels to run on dual-fuel beginning in 2017 and completing in 2019.
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