Canadian shipbuilder Davie held a keel laying ceremony for MV Armand-Imbeau II, marking the beginning of the hull assembly for this first of two sisterships under construction at Davie for the Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ).
The two ferries for the Tadoussac‒Baie-Sainte-Catherine route are to built at a total cost of $125 million for year-round navigation on the Saguenay Fjord. The first ferry, MV Armand-Imbeau II, is scheduled to be delivered in Fall 2015, followed by the second, MV Jos-Deschênes II, four months later.
According to the builder, the ferries feature the latest generation in motorized systems, most notably liquefied natural gas (LNG) engines, and each ship uses electric thrusters instead of a conventional propulsion system. Measuring 92 meters long, each ship will include eight rows on two decks, enabling the transport of up to 440 passengers and 110 vehicles, including tractor-trailers.
“Ferry construction is and has always been core business for Davie,” said Alan Bowen, Davie’s chief executive officer. “The STQ ferries incorporate many of the technologies in which we specialize for example LNG propulsion, electrical thruster systems and high ice-class hulls.”
The keel laying ceremony took place at Chantier Davie in the presence of the Minister for Transport and the Implementation of the Maritime Strategy, Jean D’Amour, and the Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of the Société des traversiers du Québec, Jocelyn Fortier.
D’Amour addedm “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.”
“The two current ferries for the Tadoussac crossing, put into service in the 80s, marked a new era, mainly with the activation of the gangway from the wheelhouse,” Fortier stated. “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.”
