Sonia set to sail to Rupert?

The Vancouver Province is reporting that B. C. Ferries has completed its negotiations and has purchased the Sonia for service on the Northern routes.

The final cost of the purchase and modifications required for service in the north will be an estimated $91 million dollars.

According to the Province B. C. Ferries has booked time at the Esquimalt Graving Dock, with work on the Sonia expected to be finished by late February of 2007.

The Province story is provided below.

Vessel Sonia to serve northern routes
Frank Luba and Chris Montgomery,
The Province
Published: Tuesday, August 29, 2006

The long-rumoured replacement vessel for B.C. Ferries' northern routes has been bought, The Province has learned.

The Sonia -- a two-year-old ferry that has been sailing between Trinidad and Tobago and more recently in Spain -- will cost an estimated $91 million to buy and modify for B.C.'s purposes, a source said yesterday.

Another ferry to serve the north coast has been needed since the Queen of the North sank in March after hitting Gil Island while travelling from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy. The 117-metre-long Sonia, which can carry 1,200 passengers and crew, as well as 220 vehicles, will replace the aging Queen of Prince Rupert.

The Prince Rupert is to be retired when a new, $133-million ferry from German firm Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft is put into service as the Queen of the North's permanent replacement in the spring of 2009.

B.C. Ferries' spokeswoman Deborah Marshall would not confirm the Sonia purchase yesterday, saying paperwork remains to be completed. "We will make an announcement when everything is official," said Marshall.

The Province, however, obtained a schedule showing B.C. Ferries has booked a spot for a vessel identified as "Sonia" at the Esquimalt Graving Dock, where ferry retrofits and modifications are carried out.

The schedule indicates work at Esquimalt dock will take place from mid-January to the end of February 2007.

B.C. Ferries is believed to have had as many as 20 managers and senior engineers aboard Sonia, watching as she operates, and making notes as to what has to be done to prepare the ship to sail in B.C. waters.

fluba@png.canwest.com

cmontgomery@png.canwest.com

© The Vancouver Province 2006