{"id":11018,"date":"2015-01-09T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2015-01-09T04:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/canadianferry.ca\/cfoa-in-the-news-canadas-ferry-industry-sets-course-for-success\/"},"modified":"2015-01-09T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2015-01-09T04:00:00","slug":"cfoa-in-the-news-canadas-ferry-industry-sets-course-for-success","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/canadianferry.ca\/fr\/cfoa-in-the-news-canadas-ferry-industry-sets-course-for-success\/","title":{"rendered":"CFOA in the News: Canada\u2019s Ferry Industry Sets Course for Success"},"content":{"rendered":"

Marine News\u00a0- January, 9, 2015<\/p>\n

By Serge Buy, CEO of CFA
\nOur country\u2019s past and its future are fundamentally linked to the transportation of people, vehicles and goods over our lakes, rivers and sea. Ferries have always been an integral part of Canada\u2019s transportation infrastructure. Today, the geo-political relevance, the economic impact and the environment footprint of ferries continue to show that the sector is a crucial part of Canada\u2019s infrastructure.<\/p>\n

Nationally, nearly 50 million people and more than 18 million vehicles travel on Canada\u2019s ferries each year. When compared to the air and rail travel industry \u2013 which transport 50 million and 75 million passengers respectively, according to their recent data \u2013 ferries are very clearly an important part of the transportation scene in Canada. Every day, ferries bring tens of thousands of people to work, tourists to their destinations and goods to isolated markets.\u00a0 Indeed, there are places in Canada where ships are the only link to the mainland and all goods need to be moved by ferries, including daily necessities like food and fuel.<\/p>\n

Ferry operators provide constitutionally mandated services, the only access to some communities, linkages between parts of major urban centres (such as in Vancouver, Halifax), access to some airports (Toronto and Prince Rupert), and crossing of various waterways. Whether you are traveling across the Georgia Strait to Vancouver Island, voyaging across the Bay of Fundy from Digby to Saint John or commuting to work from L\u00e9vis to Qu\u00e9bec City, Canadian ferry operators are responsible for getting you there.<\/p>\n

Growth in Canada\u2019s ferry industry doesn\u2019t just stop at ridership. Ferry operators are poised, in the next five years, to make significant investments and upgrades to their fleets. Some are purchasing new vessels while others are retrofitting and upgrading older vessels. That\u2019s on top of directly and indirectly providing meaningful employment to more than 20,000 Canadians.<\/p>\n

While investments in capital and human resources are a measure of the importance of the sector, what is more difficult to measure is the economic impact of ferries on communities, businesses and residents. Without ferries, some communities would be unable to get crucial goods such as food and fuel while others would need to have these goods transported by trucks with detours of hundreds of kilometres in some situations.<\/p>\n

Our ferries are always working toward a greener tomorrow and looking for ways to minimize their carbon footprint. Now, more than ever, we are seeing innovative technologies \u2013 such as LNG-fuelled vessels \u2013 being developed to help ferry operators achieve this goal. These new investments will reduce fuel costs and help keep the price of fares low while reducing carbon emissions by up to 25%.<\/p>\n

LNG has been heralded by major players in the industry \u2013 including BC Ferries CEO and President, Mike Corrigan, who recently said it would be a \u201cgame-changer\u201d for the country\u2019s largest service provider. \u201cAfter labor, our biggest operating cost is diesel fuel,\u201d Corrigan explained in late 2014, adding, \u201cWe believe LNG is the fuel of the future.\u201d<\/p>\n

Canadian operators have ordered 8 new LNG ferries and are taking steps to convert 2 existing ship to LNG.\u00a0 This includes:<\/p>\n