By Dominic Abassi

‘Glacially slow’ process leaves Nanaimo waiting for passenger-only ferry

May 12, 2017 | 12:31 PM

NANAIMO — Another summer will pass without passenger ferry service between Nanaimo and downtown Vancouver.

David Marshall, director of marine operations for Island Ferry Services Ltd. (IFSL), confirmed there is no way the service could be running by this summer, as lease negotiations with the Nanaimo Port Authority (NPA) move at a pace he described as “glacially slow.”

“It’s odd. We’ve always believed there’s a strong market and demand in Nanaimo, that the vast majority of people…want this to happen,” Marshall told NanaimoNewsNOW. “You would think that a private company bringing a substantial amount of money and satisfying one of the biggest demands in the city without any request for subsidy would be not just welcomed with open arms, but you would be moving very quickly to put that service in place. That has not been the case here.”

Marshall said the NPA issued a preliminary lease proposal at the end of March, more than two months after IFSL was selected as the preferred proponent following an open call for operators. He said a counter proposal was handed in on April 21 and hasn’t been discussed since.

He said a secondary review by a third party scheduled for February never happened and was suspended by the NPA at the last minute.

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“We are tenacious to a point. We’ve been committed to Nanaimo for a heck of a long time and we would like to see that commitment respected and responded to,” Marshall said. “There doesn’t appear to be, at least within the Port, any sense of ‘let’s get on with this, let’s get this done and let’s meet the needs of the broader community.’ We’re not seeing that and so we do have to ask, why?”

NPA president Bernie Dumas said lease negotiations have been interrupted by a required environmental study. It will explore the potential impacts the foot ferry service might have on the marine eco-system, noise and air pollution.

Dumas said it’s a spin-off from the federal government’s new ocean protection plan and something that had to be done anyway. “It’s unfortunate, but we’re going to have to get it done because the Port has to do it in the proper manner.”

A timeline for the environmental work hasn’t been set, according to Dumas, and they should have a better idea next week.

Dumas noted consultations with the Snuneymuxw First Nation are another factor in the process. “We’re disappointed as well taking the time here and I know the public is concerned that it’s taking forever but it’s progressing and we’re doing it the right way and unfortunately it’s taking a little bit more time.”

Marshall said IFSL is burning money every month and can’t wait forever. “We will have to look for other options fairly soon because we can’t continue to spend our investor’s capital waiting for things to happen…with no established timeline or expectation in sight.”

He would not elaborate on what those other options might look like, noting they could have been up and running in June of last year.

IFSL and the City of Nanaimo entered into a lease in July 2014. In November 2015, the group claimed they told Nanaimo councillors they had capital and were ready to start service. Council instead ended their agreement with IFSL, allowing the NPA to take the lead on an expression of interest process.

dominic.abassi@jpbg.ca

On Twitter: @domabassi

Note to readers: This is a corrected story. An earlier version made an ambiguous reference to a 2014 agreement between IFSL and the City of Nanaimo. That was meant to reference the date a lease was approved.