Ferry issues always dominant on the North Coast

Two competing stories found space on the front page of Thursday’s Daily News, as the paper provided Page One coverage of the news of the refit of the Sonia. The refit is scheduled to start in December at Victoria Shipyards and is being hailed as giant step for the ship building industry in the province.

The other story getting prominent coverage in the paper on Thursday was the reaction of the North Coast’s MLA to the fare hikes planned for the northern routes in October of 2007.

THE SONIA IS TO GET ITS REFIT AT A B. C. SHIPYARD
The Daily News
Thursday, November 2, 2006
Pages One and Two
The vessel that will replace the Queen of the North will be prepared
for service right here in B. C.

B. C. Ferries has awarded Victoria Shipyards a $9 million contract to modify the MV Sonia. About 150 people will work on the ship, which is due to arrive in Victoria about December 16.

Malcolm Barker, Victoria Shipyards general manager said he is delighted B. C. Ferries has opted to have the work done locally.

“When you give us the opportunity, we put our best foot forward,” he said. “We competed against yards in Europe similar to us and at the end of the day, we were successful.”

Victoria Shipyards bid for the refurbishing work against three Greek shipyards. Key criteria were price, speed and technical quality.

North Coast MLA Gary Coons and the opposition’s ferry critic Gary Coons said that it’s about time the province decided to do the work needed in B. C.

”Obviously, it’s great news for the ship-building industry,” he said. “We’ve been asking for that commitment for a long time.

”Taxpayers should be paying for it to be done here in B. C.”

The work is likely to be completed toward the end of February and the ship will then go to Deas Pacific Marine in Richmond, a B. C, Ferry Services subsidiary, for the finishing touches.

The renamed and reflagged ship will then begin servicing B. C. Ferries Port Hardy-Prince Rupert-Queen Charlottes Islands routes n April 2007.

Northern communities have been struggling with reduced ferry service since the Queen of the North sank March 22.

“B. C. Ferries is very pleased that Victoria Shipyards was the successful bidder,” said David Hahn. B. C. Ferries President and CEO. “We look forward to the arrival of the vessel in Canadian waters, which will take us another major step closer to restoring full service to our Northern routes next summer.”

George MacPherson, president of the Shipyard General Workers Federation of B. C., said
the contract for Victoria Shipyards “is another feather in the cap for the industry.”

“It’s interesting that they went to international tender and, once again, B. C. yards came in with a low bid,” he said.

Work on the Sonia includes updating safety and security equipment, modifying the stern ramp to be compatible with B. C. Ferries berths, upgrading electrical, heating and lighting systems and reconfiguring the gift shop and common areas.

The galley area has to be extensively renovated to meet B. C. Ferries standards, said B. C. Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall.

The 117-metre Sonia, which was built in 2004 and, most recently, ran between Barcelona and Ibiza, is in Greece, where she is being painted and prepared for the transatlantic trip.

Before she sets off on the voyage, which includes sailing through the Panama Canal, the ship’s engines will be modified to use cleaner-burning marine diesel fuel.

B. C. Ferries is buying the Sonia for $50.6 million, the total refit cost is $18 million and modifications to the docks at Port Hardy, Prince Rupert, Skidegate and McLoughlin Bay will cost about $4 million.

With Files from CP.

FERRY CRITIC REACTS TO HIKE WITH DISMAY
North Coast MLA angry that fares keep going up
The Daily News
Thursday, November 2, 2006
Page One

Rising B. C. Ferry fares are getting out of control, said North Coast MLA Gary Coons.

Ever since the advent of the Coastal Ferry Act in 2003, fares have been rising for every route in B. C. in addition to the fuel surcharges that have been added to the cost in the past year.

Coons said that once again, it’s another example of how the so-called privatization of the marine highway system is a failure.

“The Ministry of Transportation in March 2003 sent out a press release saying that the Coastal Ferry Act would mean stable rates,” said Coons, the NDP critic for Ferries and Ports.

“An increase of nearly 50 per cent is hardly stable, when you consider the inflation rate over the same period has been around three pre cent.”

On Nov. 1, fares on all southern routes went up, by an average of 2.8 per cent – affecting the three major routes (between Vancouver, Victoria and Nanaimo) – and by 4.4 per cent on the smaller routes.

That means that a single drive with an underheight vehicle is paying 47.5 per cent more to travel between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen that that driver would have in 2002.

“The B. C. Liberals promised stable fares, and they’ve broken that promise,” said Coons.

The fares for the Northern routes (Port Hardy-Prince Rupert and return, and Prince Rupert-Skidegate and return) remain the same for now but will go up in October 2007.

However, travelers along the northern routes have seen an increase of 34.5 per cent since 2002. For example, a single passenger driving an undersized vehicle traveling from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert had to pay $176.25 in 2002. Now, with the fuel surcharge included, the same trip would cost that driver $258.30, which will be slightly higher during next summer’s peak season.

“Under this model, B. C. Ferries is paying higher costs, which they’re obviously passing on to the ferry going public,” said Coons.

“(Transportation Minister) Kevin Falcon must come to the forefront, face the music of the dismal performance of this privatization scheme, and re-evaluate the course we are heading with our marine highway.”

The only slight increase that affects the North immediately is the Skidegate-Alliford Bay run (return) on the Queen Charlotte Islands, where the cost of a vehicle has gone up $.60 and $.25 per passenger.