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BC Ferries reps dispel Salish Orca rumours

Ferry corporation alters vessel start date to middle of May
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COMING SOON: Despite rumours of breakdowns, BC Ferries says preparations for Salish Orca to replace Queen of Burnaby on its Comox-Powell River route are on track for mid-May. Chris Bolster photo

BC Ferries’ replacement vessel for Queen of Burnaby, the brand new Salish Orca, will come into service by the middle of May, according to Northern Sunshine Coast Ferry Advisory Committee chair Kim Barton-Bridges.

BC Ferries had previously indicated the new ferry would begin service at the beginning of April, then that was pushed to the third week of April. Now the corporation is saying the vessel will take over the Comox-Powell River route on May 16.

The extended wait has driven speculation that Salish Orca, which will be fuelled by truck with LNG and diesel, has mechanical problems or that its dual-fuel system is malfunctioning.

Barton-Bridges said she has gone out of her way to quash rumours about the ferry that have been circulating on social media.

“There have not been any explosions, nor has there been any problems with LNG or the fuel system,” said Barton-Bridges.

BC Ferries’ public affairs director Deborah Marshall said Salish Orca has been having some warranty work completed, but rumours of breakdowns and problems with its natural-gas-powered engines are unfounded.

“Everything is working great with the LNG,” said Marshall. “We have been completing warranty work, but the vessel has been performing very well for us.”

Marshall said BC Ferries is currently engaged in acquiring a Transport Canada licence for the ship.

The next step in the ferry corporation’s plan is to have Salish Orca dock at Saltery Bay terminal, which has two berths, for further crew training. After that, three soft sailings between Little River and Westview terminals will provide opportunities for each of the vessel’s three watches to gain experience loading and unloading the ship with paying passengers.

Barton-Bridges said she realizes the public is excited for the new ship to start, but asked for a little more patience.

“If we can just hang on two or three weeks, we’ll have a new ferry,” she said. “Quite frankly, there are issues that are more important to us right now.”

Number one is the status of the summer schedule on the Earls Cove-Saltery Bay route, she said.

The ferry advisory committee has been told it will have to wait another month for a response from BC Ferries to the committee’s request that Powell River businesses not lose an early morning sailing to a sailing later in the afternoon as a means to provide more capacity for summer tourism traffic.

Barton-Bridges said the committee is pleased BC Ferries is still working on the matter and expects an answer.

“We’re anticipating a busy summer,” she said. “We want to have it rectified by then.