Victoria-Vancouver ferry nears return to service
Downtown-to-downtown vessel was sidelined by engine trouble
Australia-based Riverside Marine is ready for Round 2.
The company, which in May launched the V2V Empress catamaran passenger ferry on a route between Victoria’s Inner Harbour and Vancouver’s Coal Harbour, has put the vessel back in the water after more than four months in dry dock.
The V2V Empress, which has struggled with low ridership and had to be pulled from service in August when it lost an engine, left Point Hope Shipyard Wednesday morning.
“We’re back in the water and ready to go, and we’ll be starting up [service] Dec. 27 and we’re looking forward to that,” said Riverside chief executive Hume Campbell.
He said Wednesday was a big day for the company and he remains optimistic the service will prove itself. “Absolutely. If I didn’t have hope I wouldn’t be talking to you, and I’d be on a beautiful beach in shorts in 30 degrees.”
He said his goals of firmly establishing the service and adding a second vessel have not changed.
Campbell, who has been in Canada for the last 10 weeks while the vessel was being refitted and the company hired new staff, said the support he has received from the community has given him new hope. “I’m amazed at the support I’ve had, that’s what bolstered me.”
The company, which spent just over $12 million to establish the service, has spent another $2 million to install the new engines and do other work on the vessel before it was put back into the water Wednesday.
It will now start going through sea trials and staff training.
When it goes back into service Dec. 27, it will run four days a week until mid-January and then return to daily service.
Campbell said there was a temptation to not relaunch the service until the spring, given that ridership is expected to be low through the winter.
“Especially if we listened to the accountants,” he said with a laugh. “But we need to get out there. It’s a service from downtown to downtown, so you have to go and do it.”
Campbell said relaunching in a quiet period should allow the company to get its systems and staff into a rhythm before the summer season hits.
“We’re back and we have to prove it now,” he said. “We want this ship to be embraced by the community, and they will have another way of getting to the mainland.”
As it relaunches, V2V intends to offer $50 fares for all seat classes for the first five days, and then establish fares ranging from $70 to $200 after that. Previously, fares ranged from $120 to $240.
V2V will have one less factor to worry about when it is back in service: Victoria Clipper has cancelled plans to operate a passenger ferry on the same route.
Clipper had planned to launch a service in the spring to compete with V2V Vacations’ offering, but dropped the idea due to unexpected operating costs in Vancouver.