On Thursday 2nd November, our SFU team was treated to a tour of one of the BC
Ferries Coastal vessels. The group is working on the Assessing the benefits of
hybrid-electric propulsion for major ferry routes in the Salish Sea project funded
by the ECCC Salish Sea Marine Emissions Reduction Fund. The tour was a great
chance to see the propulsion, engine, and control systems up close, as well as
having the opportunity to speak with the Chief Engineer.

BC Ferries Coastal class vessels are a key part of the transportation network in
the Salish Sea and are among the largest double ended ferries in the world. They
provide daily service on the major routes between Vancouver Island and British
Columbia (BC)’s lower mainland, (Swartz Bay – Tsawwassen) (Horseshoe Bay –
Departure Bay), and (Duke Point – Tsawwassen). The ferries’ greenhouse gas
and air pollutant emissions contribute significantly to total greenhouse gas and
air pollutant emissions in the Salish Sea.

The potential to reduce emissions from the Coastal class vessels is a key
consideration for BC Ferries. To investigate this opportunity, researchers at SFU’s
School of Sustainable Energy Engineering are collaborating with BC Ferries to
conduct a review of the opportunities to hybridize the Coastal class vessel as
part of their upcoming mid-life propulsion system upgrade.
The Coastal class vessels are particularly well suited for hybridization as their
propulsion system is already configured as a diesel-electric drive, but without an
energy storage system. Hybrid-electric propulsion systems incorporating energy
storage can improve vessel efficiency and reduce emissions by optimizing engineoperation and enabling energy recovery options. Coupled with shore-siderecharging, a hybrid-electric propulsion system could allow zero-emission in-portor near-shore operation while leveraging BC’s very low-carbon electricity grid.This proposed project will evaluate feasible propulsion system configurations,assess the impacts of hybrid system optimization on greenhouse gas and airpollutant emissions, and evaluate corresponding improvements in air quality andreductions in energy use in and around the Salish Sea