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BC Ferries' Salish Eagle, the second of three new liquefied natural gas (LNG)-powered, Salish-class vessels, arrived at its new home in British Columbia, Canada, on 20th March.

The vessel reached British Canadian waters after a 38-day, 10,440-nautical-mile journey from Remontowa shipyard in Gdansk, Poland.

After the Salish Eagle cleared Canadian Customs and final inspections were complete, the vessel was officially handed over to BC Ferries.

On Tuesday 21st March, the ship will proceed to BC Ferries' refit facility in Richmond to prepare for operational service. The vessel will move to Tsawwassen terminal in mid-April for crew training and familiarization, and to continue to ready the ship for regular operation.

"We are proud to welcome Salish Eagle, our second natural gas-fuelled ship, home to B.C. and into our fleet," said Mark Wilson, BC Ferries' Vice President of Engineering. "The Salish Class are well built vessels that will help reduce our environmental footprint and our operating costs."

The Salish Eagle is due to enter service on the Tsawwassen - Southern Gulf Islands route at the end of June. Sister ship, the Salish Orca, is scheduled to start service on the Comox - Powell River route late next month. The Salish Raven, the third Salish-class vessel, is set to depart Poland for British Colombia in April and is due to enter operations in the Southern Gulf Islands later this year.

All three Salish-class ships - named in honour of the Coast Salish people and the Salish Sea where the ship is due to operate - have been built as dual-fuel, capable of running on LNG or ultra-low-sulphur diesel (ULSD).

The 107-metre-long vessels each have the capacity to carry 145 vehicles and up to 600 passengers and crew. The vessels feature two car decks and have a service speed of 15.5 knots. Each ship is powered by three Wartsila 8L20DF engines. The gross tonnage (grt) of each vessel is 8,728 tonnes.

Under contract to the Province of British Columbia, BC Ferries is the service provider responsible for the ferry service along coastal British Columbia.