Scott Stanfield - Comox Valley Record
Sept 4, 2014
The first steel cut for the new cable ferry running from Buckley Bay to Denman Island was held Wednesday at Seaspan in North Vancouver, marking the beginning of the next new vessel in the BC Ferries’ fleet.
“Today is an exciting day for BC Ferries as we officially begin construction of the cable ferry, which will enter service on our Buckley Bay – Denman Island route next summer,” BC Ferries’ president/CEO Mike Corrigan said in a news release. “We’re proud of our partnership with Seaspan and we know that they will construct an excellent ship for the millions of customers who will sail on her over the next 40 years.”
About 578 tonnes of steel will be used to construct the vessel, expected to take just under eight months. The project will employ 50 to 100 skilled workers.
The cable ferry will measure 78.5 metres. It will accommodate 50 vehicles, and 150 passengers and crew. It will operate with one drive cable and two guide cables. With a crossing of about 1,900 metres, the ferry will be the longest of its kind in the world, capable of speeds of 8.5 knots with a normal service speed of 7.5 knots.
According to BC Ferries, cost savings will exceed $80 million over the life of the project compared to the current service. Yearly savings of $2 million will help with fare affordability across the coastal ferry system. Labour costs are about half of a conventional ferry.
Denman and Hornby Island residents have voiced overwhelming opposition to the project, concerned about safety and reliability. Others are angry about job losses and crew reductions. A petition containing 1,800 signatures was given to Comox Valley MLA Don McRae, who was asked to deliver it to Transportation Minister Todd Stone.
The cable ferry will replace the Quinitsa that runs between Denman and the big island. A crew of six operates the Quinitsa at any one time while a cable ferry would require three people. The entire Quinitsa crew consists of about 30 employees, roughly half of whom live on Denman while the other half reside on Vancouver Island, BC Ferries says. Cutbacks could be through attrition, though some employees may be re-assigned to other routes.
The corporation says the cable ferry will provide the same level of service as the self-propelled vessel on the route; however, with no propellers and three times the fuel efficiency as conventional vessels, a cable ferry is a more sustainable and “greener” alternative to marine transportation,
Upgrades at the Buckley Bay and Denman Island West terminals will be complete by the end of the year.
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Cruise and Ferry - Sept 2, 2014
Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards is to cut the first piece of steel for BC Ferries’ new cable ferry on 3 September.
The CAD15 million cable ferry will serve on the route between Buckley Bay and Denman Island, Canada and is scheduled for delivery in the first quarter of 2015. Expected to be operational by summer 2015, the 78.5m cable ferry will accommodate up to 50 vehicles and 150 passengers.
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Windsor Star - Aug 26, 2014
When the sparkling new white MV Jiimaan ferry pushed through dark waters to dock in Kingsville late one night in 1992, Emma Nolan, then a ticket agent, never imagined she’d one day be its captain.
But more than 20 years later, she’s the one wearing the crisp white uniform with four gold stripes.
Nolan is the only female captain on a large ship in the Great Lakes, certified as a Master, Near Coastal with Transport Canada. She got the job in May.
She’s the second woman known to have captained a large vessel that travels regularly in the Great Lakes, but she doesn’t expect to be the only one for much longer.
“It’s nice to see it’s easier to come up; it’s easier to get through the system,” she said.
When Nolan started her path toward the job she has now, she said it took time to prove she was there to stay.
“They thought I was this lost girl searching for my path in life or something,” Nolan said. She was the only woman in a class of about 20 students in marine navigation at Georgian College. By the time she graduated, all but six had dropped out.
“They wanted to pat me on my head and send me on my way but once it was clear I was here to stay it changed,” she said.
That didn’t mean it was easy. When she came back for her second year, one teacher told her he was shocked. He’d thought she was there for the “Mrs.” program: to find a husband.
When she earned high grades – which she did often – classmates would insult her and write her name on the bathroom stall.
But Nolan said she’s always had a personality of pushing through.
When she was trying to decide what post-secondary education to pursue, she remembers her mother and guidance counsellor talking about her in another room. She saw an ad for a coast guard program in the maritimes on the back of a magazine, and stormed into the room to tell them what she planned to do.
“If people say, ‘You can’t do it. You can’t do it,’ then I kind of stomp my feet and say I can do it,” she said.
Nolan stands at the helm, listening to her hand radio while checking passenger counts and keeping an eye on traffic in the shipping lane.
When she gets the confirmation from her crew, she turns a nob that bellows a loud sound, and starts navigating the ferry out of the Kingsville dock. Sometimes she lets cadet Deanna Pedoniquotte do the steering, keeping a close eye and giving tips like “give it some slack” to be sure it goes smoothly. The opportunity is one most cadets don’t get.
Her colleagues all agree Nolan’s one of the best at navigating the ship through narrow channels and heavy winds. Those are the biggest challenge with a ferry like the Jiimaan. It’s tall and wide, which means high winds can push it quickly.
In October 2012, it ran aground on a shallow sand bar when wind blew it even further off a deviated course.
Nolan says working on the Jiimaan is a captain’s dream. The route is familiar, but always challenging as they change course to allow larger ships through or navigate around fishermen who try to catch the fish stirred up in the waters as the ferry goes by.
When the ferry docks in Pelee Island for the night, most of the crew sleep on board.
Nolan shares a cabin with the ferry’s other captain, who works the days she’s off. The small cabin has a television and a pile of books, and an adjoining office where Nolan does payroll and files paperwork.
But she says she spends most of her time out with the crew: working long hours on the bridge and on breaks lounging in the back of the cafeteria where the crew eat their lunch or greeting passengers travelling with them.
She works one week on, one week off, giving her ample time to spend with her two sons.
Her husband Ben Stover, also in marine navigation, works on a laker — a freighter that travels the waters of the Great Lakes — that takes him out for a few months at a time. The couple rely on their mothers to look after the boys when they’re both away.
“There are no boundaries,” Nolan said of her two boys. “They’re going to grow up thinking that it’s totally normal for a woman to be a captain.”
Lillian Kluka, who was the first female captain on the Great Lakes, said she’s tickled pink to see another woman take on the role.
“There should be more of them,” she said. “I’m baffled because it’s a great job. There are lots of girls who graduate from the marine academies here in Canada.”
Kluka said years ago when Nolan was still a student, they drove together to a conference for women in the marine industry. When she learned it was Nolan who got the job to be captain of the Jiimaan, she was thrilled and proud.
“It’s like every job. You have people who don’t like you simply because of who you are, but you can’t really waste any time thinking about it,” Kluka said.
Hanging in the cabin Nolan shares with the Jiimaan’s other captain is a sign put up by a previous captain that reads: “I am the captain of this ship and I have my wife’s permission to say so…”
Nolan shakes her head and laughs. She’s not going to take it down. She says with a chuckle that it just shows women have always been the ones in charge.
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CBC - Aug 23, 2014
In just over a year, a brand new and long-awaited ferry will be put into service for Fogo Island and Change Islands, in Notre Dame Bay.
On Friday, Minister of Transportation and Works Nick McGrath was joined by residents of Fogo Island and Change Islands to celebrate the keel-laying of the new $51-million ferry.
The laying of the keel formally signifies the beginning of construction, and is traditionally celebrated.
A video of the Aug. 20 event at Damen Shipyards in Romania, where the ferry is being built, was broadcast at Friday's ceremony on Fogo Island.
McGrath said the laying of the keel marked a "significant milestone" toward the introduction of the new ferry.
"There is a sense of excitement among residents, as we look ahead to the arrival of the new, modern and capable ferry which will begin servicing the area in just over a year from now."
The ferry will be an 80-metre ice-class vessel that has roll-on, roll-off capability and will accommodate up to 200 passengers and 60 vehicles.
As a brand new vessel, the Newfoundland and Labrador government says the ferry will also provide a more reliable passenger experience and will have increased capacity for operating in challenging ice conditions.
Residents on Fogo Island and Change Islands have endured recurring transportation issues for the past number of years, mainly due to aging ferries.
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CFOA welcomes the Transportation Safety Board's Annual Report to Parliament 2013-14.
To view this report, please click here.
Vanguard - August 15, 2014
The UNSM will be asked to endorse resolutions calling on the provincial government to continue to provide funding for the Nova Scotia-New England ferry and calling on the federal government to recognize the crossing as an international highway link between Canada and the United States.
The resolutions, which will be brought forward to a meeting of the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities, were approved by Yarmouth town council at its Aug. 14 monthly meeting.
One resolution reads: ‘Be it resolved that the Union of Nova Scotia Municipalities urge the Province of Nova Scotia to continue to financially support the continuation of the current Nova Scotia to New England Ferry service until such time that the viability of the service can be clearly ascertained.’
Such time, says Yarmouth town council, is not just one season.
Council also says the ferry service needs to be recognized as what it is, a Nova Scotia-New England ferry, and not just as a Yarmouth ferry, which many people see it as. Council says the ship carries passengers who visit and spend money in all parts of the province.
“It helps us, but other parts of the province benefit,” said Councillor Phil Mooney.
Read more, click here.
Haven’t registered for this year’s CFA AGM & Conference? What are you waiting for? Register today!
Be sure to use CFA’s promo code to save when booking on Air Canada: HYEFG6E1
The Canadian Ferry Association is pleased to welcome aboard Chantier Davie Canada as our newest Industry Participant member!
For the first time ever, this year’s conference will include an Operator Members Panel. Representatives from CFA Owner/Operator members will have an opportunity to discuss their future new build and retrofit needs for the coming years.
A recent CFA survey found our members plan billions of dollars in new builds and retrofits over the coming years. This direct dialogue between operators and with suppliers will allow our members to get the equipment they need and is a great opportunity to grow your business.
We hope that you will be able to join us for this year’s Conference. Click here to register.
Chronicle Herald - July 21, 2014
The province’s Bluenose II refit may be badly behind, but Ottawa is so far on schedule to replace another important piece of Nova Scotia’s maritime infrastructure: the aging MV Princess of Acadia on the Digby to Saint John, N.B., run.
Rather than build a new ferry, however, Ottawa has been scouring the world for a used vessel to replace the 43-year-old roll-on, roll-off car and passenger ferry.
Transport Minister Lisa Raitt, in an announcement last week in Saint John, pledged an additional $58 million over two years to maintain and repair ships and other assets on the Digby to Saint John run and two others: Caribou, near Pictou, to Wood Islands, P.E.I. and Souris, P.E.I. to Iles-de-la-Madeleine, Que.
Ottawa owns the four ferries and six terminals but leases them to operator Bay Ferries and Northumberland Ferries.
In 2013, Ottawa pledged $60 million to purchase and refit a new ferry on the Digby run, which was seen as an encouraging sign of commitment by the Harper government to the service, which is subsidized by Nova Scotia, New Brunswick and Ottawa. The government has said it is purchasing an existing vessel because it can be launched more quickly than designing and building a new ship.
Public Works and Government Services Canada is now analyzing bids for a fuel-efficient replacement vessel, which must accommodate 299 passengers and have vehicular lanes totalling 300 metres (or about 64 Toyota Corollas), for the crossing. Once a vessel is picked, a Canadian shipyard will be hired to refit it and it could be in service as early as spring 2015.
So a new ferry could be less than half the size of the Princess of Acadia, built by the Irving shipyard in Saint John in 1971. It can carry 650 passengers and up to 155 cars and 33 tractor-trailers. About 30 per cent of the ferry’s passengers come from the U.S.
Nova Scotia’s seagoing ferries are a critical part of our transportation infrastructure. About a third of the business on the Digby ferry, for example, is commercial, with fish products the No. 1 export to Saint John and points west and south, followed by logs and general cargo.
Fisheries products are Nova Scotia’s second-largest export, worth $.9 billion in 2012.
Tourism, worth more than $2 billion a year to our economy, is also a huge part of the ferries’ business, particularly on the 75-minute Caribou to P.E.I. run. That ferry service carried 380,000 passengers in 2012.
Experts like U.S. consultant Roger Brooks say today’s visitors want novel experiences, and our efficient and attractive ferry services fit nicely into marketing for our region’s unique pastimes, including sea travel.
So federal infrastructure funding that supports both seafood exports and tourism, two key Nova Scotia industries, is a wise, welcome and necessary investment in our economy.
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