(Quebec) Quebec will have its first electric ferries by 2030, according to an announcement by the Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ) made Monday morning.
The STQ wants to acquire three ships assigned to the Sorel-Tracy and L’Isle-aux-Coudres crossings. The project is estimated at $191.5 million.
“This is the beginning of the process. We are going to call for proposals. […] We will have a better idea of the final price once we have received the bids,” said Deputy Premier and Minister of Transport and Sustainable Mobility, Geneviève Guilbault.
The Minister recalled that these electric ferries would be the first in Quebec. Norway has more than 60, said the elected. In British Columbia, BC Ferries has purchased six Romanian-built electric ferries in recent years.
PHOTO JACQUES BOISSINOT, THE CANADIAN PRESS
Genevieve Guilbault
The recharge will be done in “ten minutes”, promises the minister, “the time that passengers embark and disembark”. The government thinks it can reduce emissions by around 4,450 tonnes of CO annually2 only at the Sorel-Tracy crossing.
“It will allow us to reduce greenhouse gases and achieve our carbon neutrality goals by 2030 and 2050,” says Geneviève Guilbault.
All three ships will be built identically, allowing crews to be interchangeable and simplifying maintenance.
The news comes in a context where STQ ferries are hit by damage and service failures. The former CEO, Stéphane Lafaut, left his post last fall after four years. Greta Bédard was appointed as interim last December.
“For at least 2021, Quebec ferries have been regularly loaned to the L’Isle-aux-Coudres crossing, which means that we travel with a single ferry between Quebec and Lévis. Today, we announce the delivery of a first ship in 2029! Six more years of having to endure service breakdowns, ”responded in a press release the united deputy for Taschereau, Étienne Grandmont, responsible for the transport file.