BcFerries – Damen Road Ferry 8117 – Sea Trials
BcFerries has commissioned four new hybrid road ferries,
and vessel #2 is now ready for sea trials.
The trials starts at Damen Shipyards in Galați, Romania, by sailing down the Danube River to the Black Sea. Due to the number of people on board and the lack of cabins, we stayed overnight in Constanța port during the trial period.
These Damen Road Ferry 8117 vessels are hybrid-powered and can operate for up to one hour fully electric on battery power—a major innovation in sustainable marine transport.
It was a unique experience to sail on such forward-looking vessels.
Because the ferries will operate in the sensitive marine environment around Vancouver, Canada, special underwater noise measurements were taken during the trials to help minimize future impact on wildlife.
After successfully completing all sea trials, we returned the vessels to Galați.
A few weeks later, I returned to Galați to deliver both vessels back to Constanța, where they were loaded onto a semi-submersible heavy-lift vessel for transport to Canada.
