Cruising
I’ve left Vancouver Island and I’m heading back to the mainland.
The C Class is the largest double-ended ferry in the world and there are 7 decks! It can carry 1650 passengers and 370 “car equivalents”. This is the second of the three ferries, MV “Coastal Inpsiration” at the terminal at Tsawwassen, the other terminal for Vancouver. The huge bow doors hide the lorry and coach deck, then there is the apparently open car desk with the bridge above that, then a passenger lounge and a solarium on top. She was just starting to load, I think, as I could see the tips of her propellers partly out of the water as she continued to push herself into the loading dock. I know that our own Isle of Wight ferries don’t just rely on their mooring ropes to keep their position in the dock.
These were the first ferries for BC Ferries not built in Canada, being built by Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft of Flensburg, Germany. The decision to build the ships outside of Canada created a large uproar, particularly in BC. There were parties who argued that the Federal government should have stepped in to ensure these new ferries would be built in Canada. Part of the argument was that for reasons of national sovereignty, Canada needed to retain a shipbuilding industry, so there are Canadian shipyards to service Canadian Naval vessels. BC Ferries intended to request the Federal Government waive the 25 percent import duties (there is no free trade agreement between Germany and Canada), but BC Ferries must show that West Coast shipyards are no longer capable of constructing a vessel the size of the ‘Coastal Class’ ferry.
The total purchase price of the three new ships was €206.4 million or approximately CAD $325 million at the time of the contract’s announcement (September 2004). According to BC Ferries at this time, this was 40 percent lower than the lowest Canadian shipyard’s bid. Since that time, the Canadian dollar substantially increased vis-à-vis the euro. As of March 2006, due to exchange rate fluctuations, the total translated purchase price dropped to CAD $290 million, an unanticipated savings of approximately $35 million in BC Ferries’ favour.
Another reason BC Ferries chose Flensburger’s bid was that aside from taking the risk of construction cost overruns, Flensburger also provided guarantees on the ships’ delivery dates and performance. For example, if the ships are not timely delivered to Victoria, BC, then BC Ferries was permitted to levy penalties of CAD $40,000 (€25,000) per day up to a maximum of $6 million. After delays of 180 days, BC Ferries could rescind the contract for a full refund. However, construction proceeded ahead of schedule at one point and was completed under budget.
According to BC Ferries, none of the Canadian shipyards’ bids provided similar guarantees. The cost certainty guarantee was a significant consideration for BC Ferries (especially since the recent steel price increases) after being liable for cost overruns on the Pacificat fast ferries, which were partially responsible for toppling the New Democratic Party of British Columbia government in the 2001 provincial election.
The first new Coastal Class vessel, the Coastal Renaissance, the ship I travelled on from Horseshoe Bay, departed from Germany on October 27, 2007, and arrived in British Columbia on December 13, 2007. In that time, it had been involved in two separate events even before it had carried its first fare-paying passenger. It hit one of the lock gates when going through the Panama Canal which put a big dent in its side and then ripped off part of the passenger ramp when it arrived in its home port of Nanaimo on the island!
Seen alongside, is the MV “Spirit of British Columbia” (I was on her sister, the “Spirit of Vancouver Island”). Spirit Class Ferries (or S-Class Ferries or Super ferries) are the largest ferries in the BC Ferries fleet carry 2100 passengers and crew and 470 “car equivalents”. The new C class, although have a smaller capacity, are the largest double-ended ferries in the world.
