A new ferry to replace North Island Princess, BC Ferries’ oldest vessel in operation, is in the works for Texada Island.
At a Northern Sunshine Coast Ferry Advisory Committee meeting on Tuesday, November 1, the ferry corporation announced its plan to replace the 58-year-old vessel with a brand new ferry by the summer of 2020.
“We’re not designing the ship to fit the route,” said Mark Collins, BC Ferries’ vice president of strategic planning and community engagement. “These ships will be capable of operating between the islands of Haida Gwaii and on the north coast of BC with a wide margin of sea capability.”
Powell River Regional District Texada Island director and committee member Sandy McCormick said the proposed ship alleviates fears of islanders hoping for a suitable replacement.
“My biggest fear with the North Island Princess replacement is that we'd get stuck with a small cast-off ferry,” said McCormick. “That does not appear to be the case.”
BC Ferries is working on what it is tentatively calling its Minor 44 class, larger-capacity standardized vessels, to replace North Island Princess and Howe Sound Queen, the ferry that runs between Salt Spring Island and Crofton. Each will be built to a more robust operating standard and with the ability to sail in unprotected coastal waters.
Collins said roll-on-roll-off decks on the new vessels will have more carrying capacity, with space for six more vehicles and much heavier loads than the current ship. The ships will have a proposed capacity of 300 people and the main deck will be on the same level as the car deck, making the vessels more accessible for people with mobility challenges.
McCormick said she was looking for the new ferry to have a similar carrying capacity and operational performance. “BC Ferries’ concept appears to address both,” she said.
From a planning point of view, designing standardized ships will help make operating a fleet of ships on different routes easier, said Collins. “Refits become irrelevant,” he said.
Currently, when the corporation needs to take a ship out of service for dry dock, questions about capacity and speed are usually raised about the replacement vessel, he added.
With standardized ships, such as the Salish-class vessels, one boat is replaced with the same model, so from the public’s perspective service remains at the same level, said Collins.
Capacity and operational questions are on the minds of Texada residents as North Island Princess is scheduled for an upcoming refit and will be out of service in April and May of 2017. During that period the island’s previous ferry, the Tachek, known then as the Texada Queen, will return as a stand-in.
McCormick said the public can appreciate benefits of more standardization in the fleet.
“There is common sense to having standardized ferries for maintenance and operational reasons,” she said. “This is particularly so if operational savings with standardized vessels translates into lower fares.”
The project, which has been put out for bidding, is a design-build of the ships, though BC Ferries has some specifications it wants included in the vessel.
“We’ve been out to the market for proposals,” said Collins. “We have some from shipyards around the world and we’re analyzing them now.”
BC Ferries is anticipating selecting a shipyard in the new year, he said.
Collins said the ferry corporation is looking for the public’s thoughts on ship designs. A community engagement meeting will be organized on Texada in the coming weeks.
Meanwhile, Queen of Burnaby replacement, Salish Orca, is undergoing performance trials on the Baltic Sea. Collins reported that the first round went well and that the ship out-performed minimum speed requirements “by a healthy margin” and its ride was quiet and smooth.
BC Ferries expects Salish Orca to arrive in January, said Collins, and begin service between Powell River and Comox in the spring.
