Italian shipbuilder Fincantieri has won a C$148m ($147.8m) contract from Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ) of Canada to build a new generation ferry.
The Government of Quebec will provide finance for the 130m long vessel, which will be capable of transporting 800 passengers and 180 cars.
Under the deal, Fincantieri will work on the detailed design of the new ferry, which is scheduled to be delivered in 2014.
According to the company, the new ferry will be much larger and better equipped than the Camille-Marcoux, the vessel that it will replace.
The ferry will be equipped with a two diesel electric propulsion system, azimuth thrusters with two counter-rotating propellers, and four diesel power generators capable of running on liquid natural gas (LNG) or marine diesel.
The vessel will also feature new energy saving systems to reduce its environmental impact.
Upon delivery, the ship will be used for multiple services on the Matane-Baie-Comeau-Godbout route, undertaking around 1,600 trips to transport more than 200,000 passengers and 116,000 vehicles a year.
The ferry will be certified in the highest class designated by international registries for this type of service and will also be in Ice class 1 A and propulsion class 1 AS.
The Quebec Ministry of Transport awarded a contract in January 2010 for naval architecture and engineering services to Deltamarin/Navtec, which prepared the preliminary plans for the tender.
The public tender for the ferry’s final design and construction took place between January and June 2012.
Image: The newly built ferry, equipped with four diesel power generators capable of running LNG or marine diesel, will replace the Camille-Marcoux. Photo:Stéphane Voyer
