VICTORIA – BC Ferries’ Salish Eagle, the second of three new Salish Class vessels, is on its way. The vessel departed Gdansk, Poland on February 11, 2017, for a 10,440 nautical mile journey bound for its new home in British Columbia.
The Transatlantic voyage will take approximately 45 to 55 days, depending on weather. The journey will include stops for refuelling in Santa Cruz, Canary Islands and Panama City, Panama, after transiting the Panama Canal and sailing up the west coast of North America to British Columbia.
For those who want to join the voyage “virtually”, customers can track the ship’s progress including course, position and speed at www.vesselfinder.com.
Salish Eagle, BC Ferries’ second dual-fuel vessel, is scheduled to arrive in BC in April for crew training and familiarization. The ship is scheduled to start service in the Southern Gulf Islands in the summer.
“We are looking forward to introducing all three new Salish Class vessels into service this year, which will serve British Columbians for decades to come.” says Mike Corrigan, BC Ferries’ President and CEO. “We plan to operate these ships on natural gas, which will improve our environmental footprint and reduce our operating costs.”
The artwork created to adorn Salish Eagle, designed by Stz’uminus First Nation’s John Marston, will be applied on the ship when it arrives in BC. The winter weather in Poland has temperatures below ideal for the application.
BC Ferries will take final acceptance and ownership of Salish Eagle upon final inspection once the vessel arrives in BC. Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. is responsible to deliver the ship to BC and has contracted with a professional international ship delivery specialist.
Some of BC Ferries’ crew members are on various legs of the voyage for training and familiarization. Under contract to the Province of British Columbia, BC Ferries is the service provider responsible for the delivery of safe, efficient and dependable ferry service along coastal British Columbia.
