Light at the end: At BC Ferries, we are keenly aware of the inconvenience caused to our customers by the Queen of Burnaby being out of service [“Ferry requires repairs during January,” January 6]. The Queen of Burnaby is an aging vessel (now over 50 years old) and requires this unscheduled maintenance period to repair its propeller.
We have implemented the best alternative service possible given the ships we have available. We understand the schedule and capacity changes are not ideal. We apologize for this unforeseen change in service and we are working to get the ship back on the route as soon as possible.
We continue to invest in our service to the northern Sunshine Coast. Since 2014, BC Ferries has invested $30 million to upgrade and rebuild the berths at Little River and Powell River and completed over $2 million in upgrades at Saltery Bay and Earls Cove terminals.
One of the newest ships in our fleet, the Island Sky, is assigned to the Earls Cove-Saltery Bay route.
Our investments in the northern Sunshine Coast continue with construction of an $84-million new ship, the Salish Orca, which will replace the Queen of Burnaby on the Comox-Powell River route by the end of this year.
We recognize the service challenges faced by northern Sunshine Coast residents over the past year, but there is light at the end of the tunnel from a service reliability standpoint.
By the end of 2016, the Comox-Powell River and Earls Cove-Saltery Bay routes will have the most up-to-date assets, in terms of shore infrastructure, and two of the newest ships in our entire fleet.
Thank you for your patience during this unscheduled but critical maintenance period.
Mark Collins
BC Ferries vice-president, strategic planning and community engagement
