BC Ferries’ new cable ferry has arrived at its home port in Buckley Bay.
The 15-million dollar Baynes Sound Connector will be used on the Denman Island route.
It’s a first for BC Ferries, and it’s been controversial. The BC Ferry and Marine Workers’ Union even tried to go to court to stop the project, saying they had safety and reliability concerns, and it will cost local jobs.
Mark Wilson is BC Ferries Vice President of Engineering. “I can honestly say that of the approximately 60 cable ferries in Canada, there’s more engineering that went into this vessel than any other one,” he says. “I recognize that it will be the longest cable ferry in the world, and it’s operating in a salt water environment, but we’ve taken all those things into consideration in our design.”
Wilson says they’re planning an open house to show off the vessel before it goes into service in the Fall (likely October), and he thinks once people see it and learn more the concerns will fade.
