The Coastal Renaissance is back in service after six months of repairs, and BC Ferries says they are happy it is back.
The vessel was taken out of service on Aug. 16 because of drive motor failures that caused delays on sailings between the Tsawwassen to Duke Point Route.
Executive director of communications Jeff Groot says despite the setback caused by the repairs customers should still feel confident when they travel with BC Ferries.
“Our customers should feel confident that the Coastal Class ships are good ships,” he says. “Before these recent issues the reliability was 99 per cent.”
Groot adds now that the Coastal Renaissance has been repaired, they can focus on refitting the other ships to make sure the other vessels do not repeat the same issue.
“We’ve fixed the issue on board the Coastal Renaissance, and the other two will have the same fix completed before we start peak season,” Grott says.
BC Ferries is expected to put the Coastal Celebration in for repairs between March and April with the Inspiration being slated for April to May.
Average refit costs for each vessel in the fleet are expected to cost $4.7 million, and BC Ferries says they have 20 refit projects including 15 major vessels, two intermediate and three minor refits scheduled for 2024.
According to a presentation, BC Ferries’ Coastal Class vessels have been in operation since 2007 and have completed over 13,000 sailings with a technical reliability rating of 99.3 per cent.
