BC Ferries is switching vessels that serve Powell River and changing the schedule on one route in advance of temporary terminal closures scheduled for this winter.
The Island Sky will be removed from the Saltery Bay-Earls Cove route starting Thursday, September 12, 2013 until March 9, 2014. The vessel has a scheduled dock maintenance refit from September 12 until October 28. Starting October 29, the Island Sky will be providing service on the Powell River-Comox route until after dock closure work. The Queen of Burnaby, the regular vessel on the Powell River-Comox route, is scheduled to have a refit at that time. After the refit, the vessel will replace the Queen of Nanaimo on the Tsawwassen-Southern Gulf Islands route while that ship goes in for refit. The Burnaby will return to the Powell River route mid-March 2014.
The Queen of Chilliwack is the replacement vessel operating on the regular sailing schedule for the Saltery Bay-Earls Cove route starting Thursday, September 12 through to March 9, 2014.
Construction work to replace the berths at Westview in Powell River and Little River in Comox began in July, with completion scheduled in late spring 2014. Both the Westview and Little River terminals will remain fully operational until the berth closure period scheduled for January 12 to March 9, 2014.
Construction activities include pile drilling and driving and are anticipated to be performed daily throughout the project. The hours of operation follow local noise bylaws with alternate hours of work being required dependent on tidal activity.
To facilitate the Comox pile driving, BC Ferries has modified the schedule on the Powell River-Comox route from Thursday, October 17 through Wednesday, October 30. During this time, the Queen of Burnaby will leave Comox at 6:30 am, 10:10 am, 4:25 pm and 8 pm. It will leave Powell River at 8:10 am, 2 pm, 6:15 pm and 9:40 pm. The Island Sky will be on the route beginning October 29.
The upgrades to the ferry terminals are scheduled in two stages. From January 12 to February 7, 2014, both the Westview and Little River terminals will be closed and there are a variety of alternative service plans during that time.
For complete details, interested readers should follow the links on BC Ferries’ website, www.bcferries.com.
