BC Ferries announced today the regular vessel serving the Swartz Bay – Salt Spring Island route, the Skeena Queen, will return to service for the 9 p.m. sailing from Swartz Bay tonight, after undergoing a mid-life upgrade. The vessel was removed from service on Oct. 28 to undergo the upgrade, which was necessary to provide required maintenance on the ship and enhance the customer experience.

The MV Bowen Queen will be commencing service on the Vesuvius-Crofton on Monday, March 30, 2020, until October 2020. The following changes to the Vesuvius – Crofton schedule will be in effect Wednesday, April 1, 2020, until further notice. • 7:20 pm sailing is changed to 7:55 pm sailing from Crofton • 8:00 pm sailing is changed to 8:30 pm sailing from Vesuvius • 8:30 pm sailing is changed to 9:00 pm sailing from Crofton These changes are to facilitate the introduction of the MV Bowen Queen on the Vesuvius – Crofton route and create operational efficiencies in our service.

BC Ferries continues to roll out its Clean Futures Plan and has awarded Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. of Gdansk, Poland a contract to build an additional liquefied natural gas (LNG)-fuelled vessel scheduled to go into service in the Southern Gulf Islands in 2022. This vessel will be identical to the three Salish Class vessels built by Remontowa for BC Ferries in 2016. “Our Clean Futures Plan is our path to replace diesel fuels with cleaner energy options. While this cannot be achieved in a single step, we are continually seeking energy sources that offer a cleaner, lower carbon-intensity option to displace non-renewable diesel,” said Captain Jamie Marshall, BC Ferries’ Vice President, Business Development & Innovation. “In our move towards a sustainable future, adopting LNG is one way to reduce our impact on the environment today. This new vessel will be our sixth ship fuelled by natural gas.” The agreement with Remontowa is a design-build, fixed-priced contract…

Note: This Service Notice applies to the following route(s): - Victoria (Swartz Bay) - Salt Spring Island (Fulford Harbour) Update as of 3:39 pm: Please be advised that the Queen of Cumberland has cancelled the following sailings due to adverse weather conditions - high winds: 5:50 pm departing Fulford Harbour 7:00 departing Swartz Bay 7:50 departing Fulford Harbour 9:00 departing Swartz Bay Note: This Service Notice applies to the following route(s): - Crofton - Salt Spring Island (Vesuvius Bay) Update as of 3:20 pm: Please be advised that the MV Quinitsa has cancelled the following sailings due to adverse weather conditions. 6:45 pm departing Vesuvius Bay 7:20 pm departing Crofton 8:00 pm departing Vesuvius Bay 8:30 pm departing Crofton 9:30 pm departing Vesuvius Bay 10:00 pm departing Crofton Note: This Service Notice applies to the following route(s): - Vancouver (Tsawwassen) - Southern Gulf Islands Update as of 2:00 pm: Please be advised that…

Today, sailings on the south coast after 3:00pm will be cancelled due to the 70 - 90 km/h winds predicted by ECCCWeatherBC. For info on specific sailings, check our travel advisory here: http://ow.ly/j7mE30q9KXW ^js

Update as of 6:32 pm: Please be advised that the MV Quinitsa will resume sailing with the 6:45 pm sailing departing from Vesuvius Bay.The ship was experiencing a problem with its Right Angle Drive which has since been resolved. We appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience you may have experienced as a result of the earlier cancellations. -------- Please be advised that the MV Quinitsa has cancelled the following sailings due to a mechanical difficulty: 5:30 pm departing Vesuvius Bay 6:05 pm departing Crofton 6:45 pm departing Vesuvius Bay 7:20 pm departing Crofton 8:00 pm departing Vesuvius Bay 8:30 pm departing Crofton 9:30 pm departing Vesuvius Bay 10:00 pm departing Crofton The ship is experiencing a problem with its Right Angle Drive. A water taxi will sail in place of the MV Quinitsa on the same above posted schedule. Vessel will dock at both public docks adjacent each terminal. We appreciate your patience and apologize for any …

BC Ferries announced today the current 1.5 per cent fuel surcharge will be removed as of December 17, 2019. BC Ferries closely monitors the price of fuel and applies a rebate or surcharge, or neither, under a regulatory process that is independent of fares. Over the past 15 years, BC Ferries has been using a fuel rebate/surcharge mechanism to manage the volatility in the price of fuel. When fuel prices are lower, lower fuel prices are passed on to customers through a fuel rebate. When fuel prices are higher, a fuel surcharge is implemented specifically to cover the additional cost of fuel. There have also been periods with neither. The company does not benefit financially from surcharges or rebates. “The recent decrease in the price of fuel allows us to eliminate the fuel surcharges, which is great news for travellers,” said Alana Gallagher, BC Ferries’ Vice President and CFO. “We understand that affordability is important to our customers and every bit helps.” …

Pioneers in powering the electric flight movement, Harbour Air with service to and from Salt Spring Island, and magniX unveiled the world’s first Beaver seaplane retrofitted with a 750 horsepower all-electric magni500 propulsion system this morning in Richmond, BC. The first test flight was captured by enthusiastic supports and media gathered to watch the world’s first Beaver seaplane retrofitted with an electric engine. https://youtu.be/IOWDhYh8t64 https://youtu.be/vf84Wxnbquc https://youtu.be/Cw4ICCyhu_s https://youtu.be/asnpM4UNBR8

Join us in making history. World’s first fully-electric commercial aircraft: We are thrilled to announce, following the successful installation and testing of the magniX propulsion system, our incredible maintenance team along with our partners have reached the next level of critical milestones. Harbour Air and magniX will unveil the world’s first Beaver seaplane retrofitted with a 750 horsepower all-electric magni500 propulsion system for the inaugural test flight on Wednesday, December 11*. The prototype will take flight from our Richmond (YVR South) location. Please see below for a highlight of the work and efforts completed to date as well as next steps to take us to this pivotal moment in aviation history. https://youtu.be/npHDNXOt7PE

Vesuvius Bay terminal is located on the northwest coast of Salt Spring Island. This terminal provides service to Crofton on Vancouver Island, via a 25 minute ferry crossing on the Quinitsa. The Quinitsa has a vehicle capacity of 44 AEQ* (automobile equivalent) and can carry 300 passengers and crew; it is equipped with accessible car deck lounges and accessible washrooms and provides daily service year round. By 2022, the Quinsam will replace the Quinitsa, providing 63 AEQ* and carrying 400 passengers and crew. This terminal is an important link between Salt Spring Island and Vancouver Island for residents and visitors alike. After hearing customers' concerns on this route with overloads that affected their travel experience, BC Ferries met with Salt Spring community members in August to explore solutions for improvement. In September, we announced that as a result, we will deploy the Bowen Queen (61 Automobile Equivalent – AEQ) on the route during peak seasons until the MV Q…

Ships are designed to be fully electric when electric charging technology matures - BC Ferries continues to roll out its Clean Futures Plan and has awarded Damen Shipyards Group of the Netherlands contracts to build four more battery electric-hybrid Island Class vessels scheduled to go into service in 2022. In the spring of 2017, BC Ferries awarded Damen contracts to build two “first in class” of these battery electric-hybrid vessels. These vessels have successfully completed sea trials and will arrive in Victoria, B.C. by January 2020. With the extension of the partnership between BC Ferries and Damen now confirmed, Damen will extend its agreement with Point Hope Shipyards of Victoria, B.C. to provide technical and warranty support for the new vessels with their local staff. “Our Clean Futures Plan spells out our strategy to reduce GHG emissions by replacing our legacy carbon intensive fossil fuelled vessels with ships using clean energy,” said Captain Jamie Marshall, BC…

We are thrilled to share the completion of significant project milestones in the conversion of the world’s first seaplane to ePlane! Our incredible maintenance team along with our partners at magniX have created dedicated space in our aircraft hangar and have been working diligently to make this a success since announcing our partnership this past spring. With the delivery and successful installation of the magniX motor, we are working hard to connect the internal systems in preparation for its first flight. With incredible work being completed each day and a number of integral components being delivered over the next few weeks, we are in the midst of some of the most exciting and critical development work. Currently, we are on track for the first test flight to take place before the end of the year. By mid-November, we expect to have a concrete time-frame to test the first fully electric flight. As of October 23, 2019, the following work has been completed: Air…

Please be advised that BC Ferries will be conducting necessary testing of fire suppression systems on the Salish Orca during overnight hours after the scheduled sailing have completed on both Wednesday, October 16 and Thursday, October 17. The work may require sounding of ship alarms at various intervals, and all measures will be taken to minimize the volume and frequency of these alarms. BC Ferries would like to thank its customers and neighbours for their patience and understanding as we complete this necessary systems testing. For traffic updates or more information please call us toll free at 1-888-BCFERRY (223-3779) or check our website at www.bcferries.com

BC Transit and eight local government partners across the province will be offering free transit on federal election day, Monday, October 21, 2019. The free transit will help make it easier for residents to get to the polls and cast their ballots. Take advantage of free transit in the following communities: Cowichan Valley – including handyDART but does not apply to commuter routes (44 Victoria/Duncan, 66 Duncan Commuter, and 99 Shawnigan Lake Commuter) Comox Valley – including handyDART Fort St. John – including handyDART for customers heading to vote Kamloops – scheduled routes only Kimberley – available on route 24 Kimberley Local only (on-request service) between 8:00am and 4:00pm. Please call the day prior to book Kitimat – including handyDART City of Nelson – on routes 1 Uphill, 2 Fairview, 3 Rosemont and 4 Nelson Airport only Port Alberni – including handyDART Prince George – available all day on all routes Quesnel – available all day o…

Bowen Queen to be used during peak seasons - After hearing Vesuvius-Crofton customer concerns with overloads that affected their travel experience, BC Ferries met with Salt Spring community members in August to explore solutions for improvement. Customers identified a number of common concerns, including insufficient vessel capacity, lack of customer amenities at terminals, inadequate customer information and commercial/dangerous good vehicles congesting peak time sailings. During the workshop, BC Ferries representatives and community members arrived at possible solutions and priorities for the ideas that would be most realistic to implement, while offering the greatest benefit. As a result, BC Ferries will deploy the Bowen Queen (61 Automobile Equivalent – AEQ) on the route during peak seasons until the MV Quinsam (63 AEQ) is brought into service in a few years time. In 2020, the Bowen Queen will service the route between April and October. BC Ferries…

Please be advised that BC Ferries will be doing maintenance work on the Crofton and Vesuvius trestles. This work will take place from September 23 to November 1, 2019. There will be no impact to operations. Work will include replacement of piles, guardrails, deck boards and other minor items. A barge will be used to facilitate this work. Equipment being used may increase the normal sound levels within the terminal Monday to Saturday between 7:00 am and 5:00 pm. All efforts will be made to minimize noise. BC Ferries would like to thank customers and neighbours for their understanding as we complete the necessary work. For more information or traffic updates please follow @BCFerries on Twitter, visit our website at bcferries.com, or call us toll-free at 1-888-BCFERRY (223-3779).

Effective July 22 to August 30, 2019 - Please be advised that Walker’s Hook Road will be closed for repairs between Fort Street and Hedger Road beginning July 22 until August 30, 2019. This closure will be in effect 24 hours a day during these dates. During this time period please note that routes 5 Fernwood and 6 SS Connector, that travel along Walker’s Hook Road, will be operating with a detour. For specific information about the 5 Fernwood detour schedule and routing, click here. For specific information about the 6 SS Connector detour schedule and routing, click here. To review the updated Rider’s Guide for valid transit information during this time period, click here.