The Salish Orca will make its inaugural sailing on Tuesday, May 16, at 6:20 a.m. on B.C. Ferries’ Comox to Powell River route.
“We are very excited to introduce this beautiful new ship, Salish Orca, into service and see the dual-fuel technology at work,” said Mark Collins, president and chief executive officer of the ferry corporation.
It is one of three vessels in the Salish class that can operate on either natural gas or ultra-low sulphur marine diesel. According to B.C. Ferries, the reduction in carbon-dioxide emissions will be the equivalent of taking 1,900 vehicles off the road each year.
The vessels were built in Poland for about $200 million and replace aging ferries set to retire.
The Salish Eagle is expected to start work in the southern Gulf Islands in the third week of June. The Salish Raven is en route to B.C. and will also serve the southern Gulf Islands beginning in fall.
