Clipper Ferry Vic->Van->Vic On Hold For Now

Dogbreath

Well-Known Member
Not great news but not unexpected maybe something will happen down the line

Victoria Clipper puts Vancouver passenger ferry plans on hold
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The Victoria Clipper’s dreams of launching a passenger ferry service between Victoria and Vancouver have been put on hold until next year.

In a letter to the tourism industry, Clipper chief executive Merideth Tall said the service will start when they can “get it right.”

“While we are fully committed to this expansion in Vancouver, we have decided to postpone the start date, and plan to launch service in Spring 2017,” she said. “We've built our reputation around trust, reliability, safety and customer service for over 30 years of operating year round in this region. We are committed to getting this new service right, and a critical factor is choosing the right vessel that meets all our standards for service.

“With the wrong vessel, we know that the Salish Sea between Victoria and Vancouver can present a challenge to customer comfort. The right vessel will meet or exceed our travelers’ expectations by providing the best onboard customer experience. We are not willing to compromise Clipper quality standards or excellence.”

The decision to postpone the launch means the only passenger service that will leave from Victoria’s Inner Harbour and arrive in Vancouver this year will be operated by Prince of Whales.

The whale watching outfit has been offering a six-hour tour that takes customers from the Inner Harbour to Vancouver's Coal Harbour.

Earlier this month, Riverside Marine, which intended to start a passenger ferry between Victoria’s Inner Harbour and Coal Harbour in Vancouver this summer, announced its vessel would not likely be ready for service this year.

Brisbane, Australia-based Riverside said a complete refit of its vessel, berthed at the Wharf Street marina, is expected to take five or six months and that work will not start until at least late May.

Nick Cheong, Riverside’s vice-president of operations for the Victoria-to-Vancouver service, said transporting the vessel from Quebec took longer than expected and they are not sure when it will be ready for service.

“We recognized that when we set out to do this we could set all the targets we wanted, but what we are not willing to compromise on is the quality of the experience for the guests coming aboard,” he said in an interview in early April. “Whether it’s this summer or next summer, we won’t compromise the quality. You have one chance to give a positive impression to people on board the ship. We will not take that for granted.”

- See more at: http://www.timescolonist.com/news/l...-plans-on-hold-1.2239695#sthash.slVnQV3z.dpuf
 
I've always wondered why an operator hasn't examined a high speed business passenger route say from Sidney linking to the Canada Line in Richmond. Not sure if that sort of a route is viable but thinking that it could mean getting to downtown in roughly 90-120 minutes for less than the cost of a flight. Harbour Air and HeliJet have become very expensive.
 
If Darell was still CEO it would have been done. He stepped down last year so I heard. I do know the internally assuming nothing has changed since I been there there a lot of politics with unions etc. It will be interesting. Right now Clipper operates with Canadian workers on this side on the dock, and with US workers on board the boat only. If they operate here this will have to be Canadian workers which is a little switch on how they do things... I hope Jim is still the head captain over there and will be training new crew. If anyone that could pull this off it would be the Clipper. They are very well run (and profitable) company with years of experience...But the biggest issue with those cat engines is they suck in logs/sticks. The clippers I and IV are late a lot, and its not uncommon to have them hobbling in on one engine. Only issue with those drives.
 
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