6319 replies to this topic

[Victoria Watcher]

You don’t like tax subsidies but you also want to pay more for domestic built ships? Can’t have it both ways.

[North Shore]

Sure...send the money offshore, and the money stays offshore.  Spend the money here, and it gets recirculated in our economy..in addition to keeping local, high-skill jobs...

Edited by North Shore, 14 January 2022 - 08:12 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

So if I come to your house or work you’ll have all BC-built products?

[Mike K.]

I suspect the FastCats will have been the last large ferries constructed in BC.

 

They ended up as foreign-built vessels for some place else that eventually bought them for pesos on the dollar.

[Nparker]

...They ended up as foreign-built vessels for some place else that eventually bought them for pesos on the dollar.

But that decision was as much political as it was economic.

[Mike K.]

Clearly, it wasn't economic.

[Victoria Watcher]

At a time when transportation infrastructure projects seem to be taking center stage in US public debate, a Boston-based start-up backed by some of Silicon Valley's most prominent investors wants to turn the sea lanes along the country's east and west coasts into high-speed transit corridors.

LA to San Diego in 50 minutes? What about New York City to Boston in two hours? And all this without road traffic or airport hassle. These are the sort of commutes that may become possible if REGENT's seagliders become a reality.

Regent's founders have aviation backgrounds -- including degrees in aerospace engineering at MIT and a stint at Boeing subsidiary Aurora Flight Sciences -- but they turned to the seas for inspiration when they started looking for new, sustainable ways to transform inter-city travel.

Billy Thalheimer and Mike Klinker have raised $9.5 million from the likes of Y Combinator, Mark Cuban and Peter Thiel, among other investors, to reimagine the wing-in-ground effect (WIG) concept and turn it into a mainstream means of transportation with zero emissions.

Wing-in-ground effect vehicles are a kind of boat-aircraft hybrid.

 

https://www.cnn.com/...icle/index.html

 

 

 

 

Electrified transport networks

Since wing-in-ground effect vehicles are considered ships, they operate under maritime regulations and do not face the same operational and regulatory constraints as aircraft.

WIGs, for example, do not have to perform a battery-draining sustained climb upon takeoff, and they aren't required to keep a 45-minute power reserve. All together, this gives more margin for the designers to push the technology envelope.

 

 

'Six times faster than the ferry'

The founders are confident seagliders will also benefit from advances in battery technology in the coming years, which should allow them to more than double their range to 500 miles.

For the time being, they're satisfied with being able to extract the respectable speed (for a sea craft) of 180 miles-per-hour for a range of 180 miles, which is enough for routes such as New York to The Hamptons or LA to Santa Barbara, for example.

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 20 January 2022 - 12:33 AM.

[Victoria Watcher]

Seaspan Ferries announces strike, service disruptions affecting Vancouver Island

Vital commercial cargo ferry service will see reduced service starting Jan. 21

https://www.vicnews....ncouver-island/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 20 January 2022 - 01:36 PM.

[Victoria Watcher]

That north star took a step forward this week. Washington Maritime Blue, an umbrella organization that is bringing together the various maritime interests in pursuit of the goal, said it would use the watery route between Seattle and Bremerton as its model for designing and, eventually, constructing a new electric passenger ferry. Kitsap Transit currently operates a diesel-powered passenger ferry between Bremerton and Seattle.

https://www.seattlet...ric-foot-ferry/

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 29 January 2022 - 05:35 PM.

[Nparker]

Bring back the Kalakala.

  

[Mike K.]

Salish Heron is almost home:

Salish Heron transits Panama Canal
Latest BC Ferries Vessel on the final leg of its journey to British Columbia


VICTORIA – The fourth and final Salish class vessel transited the Panama Canal over the weekend after beginning its journey on December 22, 2021 from Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. in Gdansk, Poland. Salish Heron is expected to arrive in Victoria in late February and will be in service this year.

By the time Salish Heron completes its transoceanic voyage it will have travelled more than 10,000 nautical miles spending nearly two months navigating the Atlantic Ocean, the Panama Canal and the Pacific Coast of North America. The vessel will undergo an inspection at Ogden Point in Victoria, B.C before moving to the Fleet Maintenance Unit in Richmond where BC Ferries will officially take ownership. That’s where final preparations will be made to introduce Salish Heron into service, including the application of the exterior artwork designed by Coast Salish artist Maynard Johnny Jr.

Salish Heron is identical to the three Salish Class ferries which entered service in 2017, with capacity to carry up to 138 vehicles and up to 600 passengers and crew. With three identical vessels already in service, BC Ferries is realizing the benefits of standardization as crew training is being completed on ferries currently in operation.

The Salish Class vessels operate on liquefied natural gas, a cleaner fuel than diesel. The hull design creates a very small wake and the electric propulsion and structural design ensure a quiet ride. The Indigenous artwork on each Salish Class vessel is an acknowledgement of the Coast Salish sailors as original navigators of these coastal waters.

To follow Salish Heron’s journey and track its progress including course, position and speed, visit vesselfinder.com. BC Ferries looks forward to officially welcoming the ship into service later this year.

[North Shore]

When I was a kid, I was lucky enough to have friends who had boats, and so spent some time afloat.  I always remember - in the Vancouver area - seeing lots of deadheads around.  It was/is my understanding that those made highspeed nautical travel somewhat problematic.  That was 40-ish years ago now, though, and I wonder if the decline in logging since then has had a similar effect on the numbers of deadheads around?  Thus making hydrofoils and the like more practical?

[Mike K.]

They’re still out there. The tugs that pull thousands of logs at a time inevitably lose some.

[Victoria Watcher]

While other businesses are looking forward to a “nearly normal” tourist season amid softening pandemic restrictions, Washington State Ferries is casting doubt on whether it will be able to ­operate its Sidney-to-Anacortes ferry this summer.

 

Spokesman Ian Sterling said no decision has been made on whether the ferry will operate next month or even later this year.

 

He emphasized that a lot would have to go right for the service to resume between Sidney and Washington state.

 

The route, which goes between Anacortes and Sidney through the San Juan Islands, has not run since the pandemic shut down non-essential travel between the U.S. and Canada.

 

 

https://www.timescol...-blamed-5073843

[Nparker]

The Sidney-to-Anacortes ferry could start running in days if there weren't cowards on both sides of the border.

[vortoozo]

The Sidney-to-Anacortes ferry could start running in days if there weren't cowards on both sides of the border.

 

What? Washington State Ferries is a mess right now. They don't have the crews available to operate their normal (offseason) service. Nearly every day their service notices indicate that they are running on reduced service. Resuming additional routes is going to be tough right now, just as the article said. What does that have to do with "cowards on both sides of the border"?

 

 

 

[Last Updated: Thursday, February 17, 2022 08:32 AM] WSF Alternate Schedule Update for Thursday, February 17

Washington State Ferries is operating on alternate schedules on most routes until further notice. These changes will help offer more predictable and reliable service systemwide in the face of crewing shortages due to a global shortage of mariners that has been worsened by the pandemic. WSF will attempt to add service when possible, and will provide notifications when full service can temporarily be restored to a route.

For Thursday, February 17, the following routes are operating on alternate schedules:

• Edmonds/Kingston Alternate Service
  

• Seattle/Bremerton Alternate Service
• 2-Boat Fauntleroy/Vashon,  2-Boat Fauntleroy / Southworth, 2-boat Southworth/Vashon

The following routes are running the regular winter schedules:

• Anacortes/San Juan Islands: Reservations available
• Port Townsend/Coupeville: Reservations available
• Mukilteo/Clinton
• Seattle/Bainbridge Island
• Point Defiance/Tahlequah

The schedule page online shows the currently active schedules in the top section, and the inactive schedules are below.  Please note that the active schedules may change daily depending on crew availability, so please be sure to monitor email alerts and check the Travel Alert Bulletins page for updates. 

[JohnsonStBridge]

Not just a crew shortage but a shortage of vessels as well. They retired the MV Elwha just prior to the pandemic which only leaves one vessel that is permitted for international sailings (MV Chelan). Until they refresh their fleet the Sidney route will be at the mercy of the MV Chelan getting called into service on 'core' routes. But sure blame it on the cowards!

[Victoria Watcher]

Q: how many BCF employees does it take to close a door?



A:

BC Ferries says a problem on the Spirit of British Columbia is preventing the doors from closing. The 1 p.m. sailing from Swartz Bay has been cancelled, as has the 3 p.m. departure from Tsawwassen. The ferry terminals had already been busy today and with this cancellation, there are no available spaces on that route until Wednesday morning.

[Mike K.]

The provincial government is introducing changes to the Coastal Ferry Act to increase oversight of the public interest in delivery of coastal ferry services.

 

Rob Fleming, Minister of Transportation and Infrastructure, tabled Bill 7 on Feb. 23, 2022.

 

As BC Ferries recovers from the pandemic, the legislative amendments will help ensure people living in B.C.’s coastal communities, and all British Columbians, continue to be well served and supported by the ferry service.

 

In 2019, based on recommendations in the coastal ferry review conducted by Blair Redlin, the role of BC Ferries’ shareholder, the B.C. Ferry Authority, was expanded to oversee the strategic direction of BC Ferries to support the public interest. Increased oversight is important to ensure affordable and reliable ferry service for all travellers, including those on the 25 routes serving coastal communities.

 

The legislative amendments will build on the changes made in 2019 by ensuring the authority is better positioned to help work with BC Ferries through challenges resulting from COVID-19, and to support the corporation’s longer-term strategies for the development of the ferry system.

 

The changes will enable the authority to issue binding resolutions on matters it considers in the public interest. Changes also require the B.C. Ferry Authority to consult with the Public Sector Employers Council and develop executive compensation plans, to ensure BC Ferries’ executive compensation levels do not exceed those provided to similar executives in the B.C. public sector.

 

To ensure transparency, the authority will be required to publicly report on its resolutions, and BC Ferries will include in its annual reporting the actions it has taken in response to the resolutions.

 

The B.C. Ferry Authority is established by the Coastal Ferry Act as the sole voting shareholder of BC Ferries.

[Victoria Watcher]

The NDP government has stopped itself from just declaring the outfit a Crown corporation, which would be their first preference, if it wasn’t so expensive. Instead, it’s redesigned the lines of authority, based on a simmering mistrust of the corporation that persisted even after the NDP replaced some appointees of the previous government.

Most of the power will be stripped from the company’s board of directors and handed to a little-noticed oversight board, the B.C. Ferry Authority.

Politicians have been tinkering with the governance structure ever since the B.C. Liberals divested B.C. Ferries from government and set it up as publicly owned but privately managed corporation, “free from political interference.”

https://www.timescol...control-5116256

Edited by Victoria Watcher, 02 March 2022 - 02:37 AM.