B.C. Ferries is trying to salvage its promised direct Port Hardy-Bella Coola run by bringing in an alternate vessel.
The 383-foot Northern Adventure ferry, used for Inside Passage and Haidi Gwaii service, will provide direct service to Bella Coola between Sept. 16 and Oct. 11. That means the seasonal service will be offered for less than one month before wrapping up for the year.
It is slated to resume in June 2019, using Northern Sea Wolf vessel, now being upgraded.
B.C. Ferries purchased Northern Sea Wolf for $12.6 million in Greece, with the intention of putting it on summer service this year. But its launch was delayed because additional upgrading is needed.
Direct service between Port Hardy and Bella Coola was much anticipated by tourism operators, who have been eager to see it resume. The province announced in 2013 it was cancelling the money-losing route.
That move prompted an outcry from the tourism sector, which relied on the seasonal service. The West Chilcoltin Tourism Association paid for a study that said operators lost $3.9 million in 2014 as a result of the route shutting down. In September 2016, then-premier Christy Clark reversed the decision. She announced the route would be back in service in 2018.
The Greek ship, called the Aqua Spirit, arrived in Esquimalt last year. Esquimalt Drydock was awarded two B.C. Ferries contracts worth $20 million to completely refit the ship. Work was originally anticipated to be finished by April.
“The project is taking longer than estimated to bring the vessel up to B.C. Ferries’ and Transport Canada’s standards, which is affecting the budget,” Deborah Marshall, spokeswoman for B.C. Ferries, said in a statement.
The total price tag is not yet available. “Because the work is still underway, there are commercial sensitivities to releasing figures at this time,” she said.
To attract passengers on what is left of this year’s season, B.C. Ferries is staging a sale by reducing fares by up to 40 per cent this fall. Adult passenger fares are $99, down from $169. Standard vehicle and driver fares start at $298, from $505, B.C. Ferries announced this week.
B.C. Ferries is also promoting vacation packages. They include grizzly-bear watching, said Janet Carson, B.C. Ferries’ vice-president of marketing and customer experience.
