About 150 people attended a festive event in Nanaimo in anticipation of a fast-ferry service launching next summer. (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Ian Holmes

set sail

Passenger-only ferry linking Nanaimo and Vancouver to launch next summer

Nov 9, 2022 | 8:28 PM

NANAIMO — An elusive fast-ferry connection linking the downtown cores of Nanaimo and Vancouver is anticipated to set sail next summer.

The pending privately funded service orchestrated by a Toronto based private equity firm will see two new ferries service the route, said Vancouver Island Ferry Company CEO Alastair Caddick.

He said the launch date and further details regarding scheduling and fare costs will be revealed next spring, however he noted multiple sailings daily will be made.

“We are real, we are invested here for the long-term. The boats are fully funded and we are funded to operate for the long-term,” Caddick told NanaimoNewsNOW at a Wednesday, Nov. 9 celebratory event at the Nanaimo Port Authority administration building.

The vessels are in the completion stage by a Dutch-based shipbuilder, which will have a capacity of about 350 passengers.

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“They’re modern, they’re new, they’re reliable. These are high-speed catamarans that will be able to do the route in about 70 minutes.”

Caddick noted all of the seats will be reservable, while walk-ons will also be welcome aboard the vessels which will have multiple classes of service.

He said one of their focuses will be late night service for people attending evening events in Vancouver.

“It will be one of our objectives to make it easy to go over and see a concert and sporting event and come back the same day.”

Fifty to 60 employees are envisioned for the Nanaimo based operation, Caddick said, which will involve the vessels running between the Nanaimo cruise ship dock and the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre at the base of Thurlow St.

“When we come out with the price point in spring 2023 I think people will be pleased with the affordability of it. It will be certainly less than some of the other travel options that exist,” Caddick said, who noted a 30 year lease for the service is in place.

Basic food and beverages from local caterers will be made available on the vessels, Caddick said.

A thrilled greater Nanaimo Chamber of Commerce CEO Kim Smythe called securing a passenger-only ferry connection vitally important for Nanaimo’s future.

“That’s going to be significant in the amount of business we can do back and forth and how it’s going to facilitate future business in consideration of Nanaimo as a future investment and expansion spaces for businesses,” Smythe said.

Smythe believes the passenger ferries will play key roles in continuing to thrust Nanaimo’s population growth moving forward.

Smythe, who was instrumental in brokering the pending fast-ferry offering, believes the service will appeal to a wide demographic of people, particularly at a time with periodic service disruptions from BC Ferries.

Nanaimo Port Authority (NPA) board chair Donna Hais predicted the incoming ferry service will have considerable positive impacts for Nanaimo, the entire mid Island area and Lower Mainland.

She said the ability to travel quickly and affordably to Vancouver for a variety of reasons, including specialty health services, will be greatly appreciated.

“But then look at it the other way, what opportunities does that provide for people in Vancouver to get away and come to the Island and experience us and get to know us and what that does for our tourism sector?,” an excited Hais said. “I think that we’ll see that the traffic flows both ways and the benefit is actually province-wide.”

Hais said minor infrastructure work is underway to have the ferry dock ready for the service.

Conqora Capital Partners founder Rupesh Amin and Nanaimo Port Authority board chair Donna Hais celebrate a pending new fast-ferry service between Nanaimo and Vancouver (Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Hais said the other side of the dock used by cruise ships will be used by the fast ferries.

“The passenger ferry terminal passengers will come through the same terminal that we see Helijet passengers use, but eventually they (Vancouver Island Ferry Company) will build a small building on our lands here that will be specifically for their service,” Hais said.

A September 2021 joint announcement revealed an agreement had been reached between Conqora Capital Partners, the Nanaimo Port Authority and Snuneymuxw First Nation to provide the fast ferry service.

The lease agreement includes access to the Nanaimo Assembly Wharf, welcome terminals, parking and passenger connectivity areas.

Establishing a passenger-only ferry between Nanaimo and Vancouver has been a long time coming, leading to increased skepticism from the public as to whether the service would ever materialize.

A different company short on the required capital funding failed to launch the much-discussed fast ferry concept following years of planning.

A short-lived passenger-only ferry riddled with mechanical issues last operated between Nanaimo and Vancouver in 2006.

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ian@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @reporterholmes