Lomer-Gouin

The 'Lomer Gouin' suffered a blackout while departing the dock in Quebec on Dec 3, 2019. The vessel resumed power and continued with its operation between Lévis and Quebec.

A Canadian ice-class ferry has been coated with Ecospeed to give it full, long-lasting protection against damage from impact with ice while transporting passengers between the Canadian cities of Lévis and Québec. The Ecospeed brand, owned by Subsea Industries, part of Belgium's Hydrex Underwater Technology, is an environmentally safe underwater ship hull coating system which provides the vessel with long-term protection and dramatically improves the ship's performance. The Lomer-Gouin is an 88m, 4,233 tonne ice-class passenger ferry owned by the Société des Traversiers du Québec (STQ). Under normal operation, ferries have to drydock once a year to comply with classification regulations and this is normally done off season when there are fewer passengers. This short drydocking times give ferry operators little opportunity to take all the hull maintenance steps required to reduce fuel consumption. The benefit of Ecospeed though is that it helps to increase fuel efficiency in between dockings. The smoothness attained by the coating provides best hydrodynamic conditions for the vessel to operate at maximum efficiency. In the case of ice-going ferries, Ecospeed has apparently been shown to be the lowest friction ice class coating available.

The Lomer-Gouin is an 88-meter, 4,233 tonne ice-class passenger ferry owned by the Société des Traversiers du Québec (STQ). The ferry’s hull was coated with Ecospeed on the Isle-aux-Coudres in Québec, Canada, to give it full, long-lasting protection against damage from impact with ice while safely transporting passengers between the Canadian cities of Lévis and Québec. MV Lomer-Gouin was named for Québec's 13th premier, who later became lieutenant governor of the province. The vessel was built in the inaugural year of STQ and like all other ships owned by the company undergoes a meticulous maintenance program. Regular and rigorous inspections give information to mechanics about the necessary tune-ups or repairs. Each ship also has systems designed to protect the environment, more specifically to treat liquid waste and oil.