The Island Kwigwis was one of two new ferries servicing the Nanaimo-Gabriola Island route for summer 2022. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Jordan Davidson

two is better than one

Hybrid Gabriola Island ferries deemed summer success, environmental concerns remain

Sep 13, 2022 | 5:23 AM

NANAIMO — The first summer test of a twin-ferry system is getting rave reviews from Gabriola Islanders.

The two new hybrid vessels, the Island Gwawis and Island Kwigwis, first hit the open waters on April 12, with both capable of carrying 47 vehicles and up to 450 passengers and crew for the 20 minute crossing to Nanaimo.

Steven Earle, chair of the Gabriola ferry advisory committee, said customers are happy with the new ferries as they look back at their inaugural summer sailing season.

“It went well, in fact, better than I even thought it would go. The extent of the lineups was significantly reduced, and that’s a real issue here on Gabriola because the lineup goes along a fairly narrow curvy road and it becomes a traffic issue.”

He said the on-time performance has also improved, as well as reducing the number of overloads.

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According to BC Ferries, the number of total sailings provided was 2,830, up 59 per cent from last year. On board, passenger traffic was up nine per cent, with vehicle traffic increased by 13 per cent.

Only 40 of those sailings, or 1.39 per cent, were cancelled on the Gabriola-Nanaimo route during the summer.

The two vessels, which operate in tandem during the daytime hours, meant wait times between sailings were reduced to about 35 minutes, compared to an hour and ten minutes with only one ship.

“That makes a huge difference when people are thinking about getting a ferry…and if they miss one and the next one is only 35 minutes alter it’s not a big deal. It really reduced the anxiety level around the ferries,” Earle told NanaimoNewsNOW.

Despite anxiety levels and wait times trending down, environmental concerns heightened.

The Kwigwis and Gwawis are smaller than the old MV Quinsam, but are heavier and taller vessels, meaning they burn more diesel fuel and release more emissions.

The MV Quinsam was larger than either the Island Gwawis and Island Kwigwis, but wait times in between ferry trips exceeded an hour. (File photo)

“The increased amount of fuel use is at least 1.6 times, because that’s how many more sailings there are. That is in spite of the fact they are hybrid, so they have batteries in them to store energy and they use that from time to time. They’re using diesel, and they’re using more diesel, by a significant amount than what we had before.”

He said it was understood when these ferries were first announced the infrastructure would be in place to charge each ferry during loading and unloading to provide it with enough energy to make the 20-minute journey, but those plug-ins have yet to be built.

BC Ferries said they are keen to have it done, but Earle is concerned about their environmental impact in the meantime as no timeline is in place for necessary on-shore charging capabilities.

“They applied to the federal government for some money to do it, but they didn’t get it. They say they are committed to doing it, and we’ve been pushing them on it, but it’s an issue. There are six of these vessels in the fleet and more will be coming…if they are using more fuel than the ferries they replaced, that’s an issue.”

In July and August alone, the two ferries carried about 172,000 passengers and 85,000 vehicles.

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jordan@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @JordanDHeyNow