The Salish Eagle, the second of three new vessels joining the B.C. Ferries fleet this year, begins service Wednesday with a 9:10 a.m. sailing on the Tsawwassen-Southern Gulf Islands route.

The Salish Orca was the first of the trio in service, starting in May on the Powell River-Comox route. The Salish Raven arrived in Victoria on June 7 and is due to start service in the fall, also in the Southern Gulf Islands.

All three ferries are 107 metres long and can carry 145 vehicles and 600 passengers. They were built in Poland at an overall cost of $200 million and are all duel-fuel able to run on natural gas or ultra-low sulphur marine diesel.

B.C. Ferries plans to run all three on natural gas, which it says means a reduction of 9,000 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions annually, compared with running the vessels on marine diesel the same as taking 1,900 passenger vehicles off the road per year.

The new ferries were named to honour the Coast Salish people and each has been adorned with First Nations art.

The arrival of the Salish-class vessels means the Queen of Burnaby and Queen of Nanaimo are being retired, while the Bowen Queen will be taken out of regular service and used as a utility vessel.

Times Colonist

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New ferry Salish Eagle starts service Wednesday in Gulf Islands - Times Colonist