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Clipper pulls Nanaimo foot ferry bid, says run would not be profitable

Nov 10, 2016 | 3:36 PM

NANAIMO — One of the three companies that originally expressed interest in operating a passenger-only ferry between Nanaimo and Vancouver doesn’t think the run will be profitable.

In March, the city of Nanaimo, Nanaimo Port Authority (NPA) and Snuneymuxw First Nation (SFN) issued an open call for operators interested in setting up the foot ferry. Island Ferry Services Ltd., Clipper Navigation and Australia-based Riverside Marine responded and entered bids.

However, Clipper Navigation chief operating officer David Gudgel tells NanaimoNewsNOW they pulled their bid about six weeks ago because they didn’t see a business case for the service as it was presented. Gudgel says they ran it through their business model and didn’t think it would be profitable. He says they submitted an original response to the call for interest and had one meeting with Snuneymuxw but that’s about it. Clipper did not take part in the recent third-party review process, according to Gudgel.

That’s one of the only takeaways from an update issued by the Port Thursday. The release states that officials from the city, NPA and SFN met Wednesday with the Technical Advisory Group tasked with reviewing the two remaining potential operators. The group advised that Clipper had pulled their bid citing “a lack of local attractions and insufficient ridership forecast for the Nanaimo area”, according to the release.

“The City, SFN and NPA will now continue with their due diligence process and take the Technical Advisory Group report to their respective Board and Councils. The Committee will then immediately meet again to finalize next steps. The Committee unanimously agreed that further analysis of the variances between the two remaining applications is required.”

NPA president Bernie Dumas states in the release “the report contains a large amount of data that will require further analysis to determine the viability of a sustainable service. We are committed to completing this next phase of the process in a timely fashion.”

Dumas did not return requests for an interview Thursday afternoon.