BC Ferries applying to commissioner to change fleet renewal plan

BC Ferries announced Friday it is considering a change to the plan to renew its fleet amid record-setting passenger volumes.

In a release, the company says it has developed an alternate option to building five new major vessels and renewing two legacy ships as “the risk of current international economic uncertainties rose.”

Simply, BC Ferries is now considering building five new major vessels and renewing just one legacy ship.

The company says sailings on the major routes account for over 82 per cent of all fare revenue, and the major sailings ran at an average of 92 per cent capacity during the peak season in 2024.

“Any option that doesn’t enable us to build five New Major Vessels now means our customers will be paying more for worsening service levels in the future as expected demand continues to grow,” explained Nicolas Jimenez, president and CEO of BC Ferries.

“Based on our analysis, building five vessels now is the most prudent approach to supporting affordability, reliability, and the long-term sustainability of the ferry system.”

Jimenez tells 1130 NewsRadio that the company hasn’t settled on contracts, including which shipyard will build the new vessels, but says there’s a “positive net benefit” to starting as soon as possible to stay ahead of economic uncertainty.

BC Ferries has submitted the option as a supplemental application to the B.C. Ferries Commissioner, who has sole authority to decide by March 14, but will open the issue to public comment before that date.

Jimenez says the application was driven by research done in the company’s procurement process and isn’t directly related to the threat of a potential trade war with the U.S.

“ We put this out to 20 [ship]yards globally, and we received packages back. We’re doing that evaluation. So this information came literally as we received the information and we were able to say, ‘Oh, look, there’s another opportunity for us here, depending on how the commissioner makes the judgment on what the system needs.’”

—With files from Mike Lloyd.