Details about the new ferry that will serve the route to Vancouver Island will become known in the near future.
At the meeting of the Northern Sunshine Coast Ferry Advisory Committee (FAC) on Wednesday, November 5, Captain Al de Koninck, BC Ferries marine superintendent, north islands, spoke about the general arrangements for the new intermediate class ferry (ICF) that will serve Route 17 between Westview and Little River. In about two to three months, when BC Ferries has its next operations meeting in Powell River with FAC, he will bring the general arrangement specifications of the new vessels over so FAC can take a look.
Corrine Storey, vice-president, customer services, affirmed that BC Ferries will be providing information about the new class of ferries.
“We are just working out the details of when and we will get back to you as soon as we have some alternative dates,” Storey said. She added that BC Ferries representatives want to come to this community and talk about some of FAC’s preferences before anything is finalized.
“There are certain things we want to get feedback from the group—how we should be finalizing these passenger accommodations,” Storey said. “It’s going to be in the next few months.”
During the video- and teleconference between FAC and BC Ferries officials, de Koninck said BC Ferries has a new senior master, Captain Simon Schwarz, who is in place on Texada Island route.
“If you are travelling on that ferry, feel free to introduce yourself to him,” he said.
“Traffic on the three BC Ferries routes in the Powell River area has gone down a bit,” de Koninck reported. Route 18, from Westview to Blubber Bay, has taken the biggest hit at 7.7 per cent on vehicles and six per cent with passengers. Statistics on Route 17 from Westview to Little River and Route 7 from Saltery Bay to Earls Cove indicate the trend of the past few years has been replicated, with the routes experiencing “very slight” decreases in ridership volume.
On-time performance has been a “big plus” for BC Ferries.
“In the past we’ve struggled a bit because of the conflicts of Routes 17 and 18,” de Koninck said. “This year, partially because we had the Island Sky, which had an incredibly high on-time performance, we’ve had good success in trying to maintain schedules and keep the conflicts out of it.”
Sailings where medical emergencies delay departure are where there is an issue with on-time performance.
“If we hold the vessel, the North Island Princess, in the morning, it has an impact for the rest of the morning,” de Koninck said. “It impacts on-time performance. We are starting to track that to see exactly what effect it has on the overall performance of the vessel.”
In terms of shifting ferries to different routes BC Ferries might temporarily move the Island Sky. The Island Sky has been tagged as the replacement vessel for the Queen of Burnaby on the Vancouver Island route and it will be used next year when the Burnaby goes for a refit.
“We may be looking at putting the Island Sky on Route 17 for a week just to maintain all the clearances,” de Koninck said. “The Bowen Queen will be coming up to Saltery Bay in a couple of months and she’ll be working on that route. Don’t be surprised if that happens. We’ll give plenty of notice.”
Doug Skinner, a FAC member, asked de Koninck about late departure times out of Westview for the 8 am sailing to Comox.
“Do you think that’s solved now?” Skinner asked. “We see it leaving at 8:18, 8:20, or 8:30. Are we going to see it on time with that particular departure? It’s pretty important.”
There have been conflicts that have delayed the sailing, de Koninck said, and those have been eliminated.
“We are monitoring it and I’m keeping a close eye on it so if something is happening, we will find out what it is to maintain the integrity of that part of the schedule.”
Skinner also said on the last sailing of the day from Little River, at 7:15 pm, on many occasions, cars are not loaded until 7:05 or 7:10 pm.
The matter had already been brought to de Koninck’s attention and he is working with the senior master to find a solution. Part of the problem is that the ship’s crew has to go through training drills, which hold up traffic.
“We are working [at] going forward and trying to make sure we get everyone on so the ship leaves on time,” de Koninck said.
