After a full year out of service, the T-class ferry M/V
Tachek, a 44-year-old vessel owned and operated by Canadian company BC
Ferries has completed a $19 million life extension project that is expected to
allow the vessel to remain in service another 15 years.
The 800-ton ferry spent eight and a half months at Point
Hope Maritime in Victoria, British Columbia undergoing the majority of the
work, plus another three-plus months at BC Ferries’ Fleet Maintenance Unit in
Richmond, BC.
Work for the major capital investment project included a new
wheelhouse structure, the addition of a hybrid battery system, new engines,
asbestos abatement, a new bow thruster unit, complete paint renewal, the
elimination of the use of a generator for thruster and secondary power
requirements, and more.
“We are always looking for new and innovative ways to
promote our environmental stewardship as well as reduce our overall operating
costs,” BC Ferries’ Vice President of Engineering, Mark Wilson, said. “Overall,
this work will result in a significant improvement in safety, reliability and
performance.”
BC Ferries says it spends $70 million to $120 million in a
year on maintenance, refit and major capital projects. In the past five years,
the company’s spent about half a billion dollars on fleet investments.
The 162-foot long, 48-foot wide M/V Tachek, which can
accommodate 30 vehicles or 143 passengers, was pulled from service Dec. 15,
2012, and is expected to return to its Quadra Island–Cortes Island route in
January 2014.
