B. C. Ferries may have North Coast replacement ferry by September

The B. C. Ferry Corporation has made an offer on a European vessel to replace the sunken Queen of the North. The Ferry Corporation says they have located a three to four year old ship, which will fulfill 80 – 90% of the Corporations requirements for the North Coast runs.

The un-named vessel could be purchased within the next thirty days and in service on the North coast by September, making it available for Canadian service by January to mid-February and allowing the Queen of Prince Rupert to return to its interrupted refit program.

B. C. Ferries CEO David Hahn says that the ship has”capacity for vehicles, great capacity for passengers and has great speed.”

The only concern apparently is the fact that ferries load and unload differently in Europe than they do in North America and that may require some refinements at the ports to be serviced by the new vessel.

The Ferry Corporation offered up no further details as to the location of the vessel or the route it presently services as negotiations are now in the delicate part of the process.