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Contract for ferries yet to be let

Ferry Advisory Committee hears bid process update

BC Ferries will be giving berth to a replacement for the Queen of Burnaby but the status of the North Island Princess has yet to ramp up.

Captain Al de Koninck, marine superintendent North Islands, BC Ferries, said the company is in negotiation with two shipyards in Europe, determining which vessel will be the best value for BC Ferries for the Westview to Little River route. He said the design of the Queen of Burnaby replacement will be similar in style to the Island Sky ferry that serves the route between Saltery Bay and Earl’s Cove.

Northern Sunshine Coast Ferry Advisory Committee (FAC) member Sandy McCormick, from Texada Island, asked if the ferry corporation is satisfied that the vessel will not be constantly swamped, and that passengers will have a reasonable comfortable ride.

The new vessel has been designed for rough weather, de Koninck said, having the capacity to operate in five-metre seas. Rating for the Queen of Burnaby is half that.

The new ferry will have capacity of 145 vehicles, with a maximum of 600 passengers. BC Ferries’ contract with the winning shipbuilder will be for three vessels of 145-vehicle capacity.

Construction of the vessel has been delayed because contract negotiations have taken longer than expected. Corinne Storey, vice-president of customer services, said BC Ferries does not have an answer on a completion date because the shipyard has to be chosen, and the two finalists have slightly different schedules for when they could begin construction if they were the winning bidder.

When BC Ferries put the new vessels out to tender, the bidding process was open to everyone. Three Canadian shipyards applied in the initial round. An extensive evaluation of the proposals was made and one BC shipyard made the top five. However, it withdrew from competition because it could not complete the vessel in the required time, de Koninck said.

The goal is for the ship to be completed in a year’s timeline, said David Hendry, director of strategic planning for BC Ferries. The original schedule was to deliver the first vessel in April 2016. Because contracts have yet to be signed, completion dates for the three vessels have yet to be determined.

As for the status of the North Island Princess, serving Texada, BC Ferries is still looking at all options, de Koninck said. “To say that we have a decision on what to do, we don’t,” he said.

Storey said the question of an upgrade to the existing vessel had been contemplated, but questions of cost and life extension arose, so a second look was taken at a new vessel. She said she hoped there would be an answer in time for the next FAC meeting in the fall.