
The two much anticipated Island Class hybrid e-ferries are now in operation on the Campbell River to Quadra Island route. The new ferries will be sailing between Campbell River and Quadra Island approximately every half hour between 7:30 AM and 5:50 PM. A single vessel will serve this route in the early morning and evenings.
“This was a long time coming for all of us, but we’re pleased to have the vessels going and seeing the throughput at the both ends of the terminals. There has been some bumps along the road for sure. We’ve had to make some minor adjustments with the way we stage traffic at the terminals. We’re exploring different options, trying to keep the on-time performance and the traffic moving as fast as we can” said Megan Caldwell, the Terminal Manager for BC Ferries.
Mark Vonesh, the Regional Director for Cortes Island had a different perspective, “We live on Cortes because we like to have that isolation and sense of distance from the urban centers. That’s something that makes Cortes special, but we rely on the ferry. It’s an essential service for us. We require it for groceries, for medical, for appointments. It’s something that we rely on, and it’s a bottleneck for us. The new ferries that are coming on board obviously created some issues for Cortes.”
There was a flurry of activity related to the new ferries and other coming changes. The Ferry Advisory Committee had a virtual meeting on Feb 3. There were open houses on Cortes and Quadra Islands the following day.
To help digest some of the new information behind BC Ferries vision and the challenges, Cortes Currents sought out Karen Johnstone, Executive Director of Communications and Engagement for BC Ferries, Ushi Koebberling from the FAC and Regional Directors Robyn Mawhinney and Mark Vonesh, of Quadra and Cortes Islands, respectively.
“I was glad to see that from vast majority of the BC ferries people I’ve spoken with, there’s a real genuine listening that’s going on. The changes have created a bit of an alarm on Cortes for some folks, and it feels like they’re listening, but ultimately we’re going to see what happens as far as the action that they take,” said Vonesch.

There will no longer be a Cortes lane at the Campbell River terminal, which means Cortes vehicles will no longer be offloaded first at Quathiaski Cove.
Koebberling pointed out this will be a concern, especially when the volume of traffic increases during the summertime.
Caldwell said that smaller under height vehicles are being fed into lane #1 and going up on the gallery deck. This is usually offloaded first.
Captain Claudiu Raduta explained that, as a result of the need to coordinate the two new vessels sailing times, ferries will no longer be able to wait for Cortes Island traffic before leaving Quathiaski Cove. If one vessel is delayed it messes up the other ferry as well.
While there will still be a preferred lane for Cortes residents on the 9 AM ferry leaving Quathiaski Cove, on Monday’s and Thursdays, they have to be there no later than 8:55. The cut off time, on both sides of the Discovery Passage, is now 3 minutes before sailing.
Vonesch responded, “Starting with the loss of Lane #7 and any sort of preferred unloading on the Quadra Ferry, this is a huge, huge issue for Cortes. Let’s say you’re trying to catch the 2:30 ferry to connect with the Cortes Ferry. You can show up an hour before that ferry and someone who shows up 15 minutes after you can end up getting unloaded before you. Now in a busy summertime, you’re suddenly missing your next ferry just because of the way that things were unloaded, not because of any fault of your own or poor planning. I’m not saying that’s the reason why people miss their fairies necessarily, but if you show up before other people, it makes sense that you get onto the next ferry before other people.”
He had first hand experience of what the loss of lane 7 could mean for a specific group of Cortes residents:
“When I was first came here in my twenties, I knew that if I walked down lane seven and knocked on doors and, and seemed like a reasonable person to give a ride to, that I’d be able to get a ride across Quadra and catch the next ferry. That’s a huge loss for people and I think it’s specifically a huge loss for young people and for folks that don’t have a vehicle.”

According to Peter Simpson, BC Ferries Director of Fleet Operations, the new ferries have not delivered the 35 car per hour of increased capacity mentioned in the BC Ferries handout. The Powell River Queen had a capacity of about 59 cars. As a result of issues with the on and off ramps, the new ferries are currently delivering an increased capacity of up to 86 or 87 instead of the expected 94 cars.
These numbers refer to a standard per car measurement, which does not take into account the fact vehicles come in different sizes.
“It’s great that capacity is increased for that ferry, but it really doesn’t do anything for us except make things harder based on the way things are run right now. What that’s going to do with no change in our own ferry is create a bit more of a bottleneck on Cortes. It’s going to be easier to get to Quadra, but that easiness is likely going to create more people who are trying to get to Cortes,” said Vonesch.

BC ferries is considering two plans to address the new pressures on the Cortes Quadra island route.
Karen Johnston explained, “In the near term, we wish to add an additional round trip during peak season and over the medium term, we are looking to increase capacity with the deployment of an island class vessel to replace the Tachek.”
Captain Raduta provided additional details. BC Ferries has been testing out the idea of adding an additional sailing, which they would put into service between the end of June and Labour day week-end. There may be a service notice coming up soon. They are also thinking of introducing an Island Class hybrid e-ferry on the Cortes to Quadra route in 2026, but the final decision will not be made until September.

Director Vonesch had responses to both ideas, “One of the things I did learn is that they’re going to try and add an extra sailing during the summer season. The challenge with that is that they’re going to try and add the extra sailing within the same amount of time. So basically just speeding up loading and unloading times. There can already be challenges with us keeping the schedule based on what it is. So, it’s great that there’s going to be an extra sailing. We’ll see how that works out as far as the realisticness of the turnaround times.”
(Afterthought added the next day: I have not seen BC Ferries plan, but the Ferries currently have a 30 minute stop at Heriot Bay. For example, the 12:35 PM does not depart until 1:05 PM. This allowed the vehicles that just offloaded at Quathiaski Cove to drive across Quadra and catch the ferry to Cortes. As there are six sailings a day and two ferries are no longer trying to coordinate, you may be able to add an extra sailing by cutting the stopover at Heriot Bay down to 10 minutes.)
“We are getting a new ferry sometime in the next 12 years, that’s what the capital plan says. It could come as early as 2026. That’s certainly not a number I want to count on, but they’re saying that’s a possibility. That’s going to increase capacity on the Cortes side, but we really don’t know what the vessel looks like right now, or how exactly it’s going to change.”

“My hope is that BC ferrys is, long term, looking to go electric on more and more of their services. The carbon footprint for us using the ferry is significant. if we’re already making investments into a new boat to serve Cortes, we should do it in an environmentally friendly way and also addressing the concerns that we have for being able to access our own island.”
When Cortes Currents raised this question, during the FAC meeting, Director Mawhinney texted that it something she wanted to hear about as well.
None of the Ferry personnel at Friday’s FAC meeting knew when the infrastructure changes, enabling the new ferries to go fully electric, will be made. The ferries are currently powered by a combination of diesel and electric, with 800 kWh of battery energy storage capacity. At the beginning of this project, BC Ferries stated they may upgrade to 2,000 kWh, and go fully electric, when the cost of energy becomes more economical. This would also call for improved charging facilities.

A section of the BC Ferries handout is devoted to a problem that occured on Quadra Island last year. There were reports of ambulances not being able to leave the island during off hours. Consequently, there were allegedly delays transporting patients to the Campbell River Hospital.
Karen Johnston responded, “We heard from the community during our last drop in session and that led to really collaborative discussions with BC Emergency Health Services about the challenges that were being experienced and we’re now working to establish an agreement with them regarding after hour service to and from all the small island communities we serve, including Quadra Island.”
“We really want to thank the Quadra BC Ferries community for raising their concerns regarding after hours emergency transport on BC ferries and, while we don’t have a contract to provide after hour service, we do our best to support these needs whenever possible.”
In response to Curtes Currents request for comment, Mawhinney emailed, “I attended the community engagement session on Quadra yesterday afternoon. I’m happy that BC Ferries is doing community engagement, listening to the folks for whom the ferry is a necessity. I sincerely hope that the listening results in actions and improvements based on feedback which community members shared.”

Johnston gave an overview of impending changes being made to all four ferry terminals:
“There’s a lot happening. For Campbell River, terminal building and traffic safety improvements, we’re expecting completion by the fall of 2024. At Quathiaski Cove, we’re doing a trestle life extension, and that’s expected to be completed by the summer of 2023. We have a number of terminal updates at Heriot Bay. Terminal development engagement is set to begin in 2023, with expected completion by Spring of 2026 and that includes trestle and berth replacement. For Whaletown, there’s a berth rebuild. The terminal development engagement is set to begin in 2023 with the expected completion of this project by the Spring of 2026.”
Caldwell provided some additional details during the FAC meeting. BC Ferries will be building a new terminal in Campbell River and making some changes to improve the flow of traffic. They will be carrying out some tests at Quathiaski Cove this summer, in preparation for the trestle life extension. There will be community engagements for both the Heriot Bay and Whaletown upgrades. She spoke about the physical constraints at the Whaletown terminal, which has a drop off on one side and a rock face on the other.
“We’re considering changing the lanes a little bit, making a safe walking route, and we’re trying to get a better drop off situation there as well,” explained Caldwell.

BC Ferries discussed their need to hire an addition three staff members at the terminals, as well as more crew members for the vessels. Seasonal recruitment could start as early as February 15th.
There is also a new mobile app coming out that will allow customers to do everything on their cell phones that they currently do on the BC Ferries webpage. It can be personalized to provide details on the specific routes of interest to the user and is expected to come out in March.
This was director Vonesch’s first FAC meeting.
“I think there has been some animosity maybe in the past between Quadra and Cortes, as far as us competing for ferries. One of the roles I want to do there is that break down that animosity and say, ‘we’re all islanders and we all rely on this service. Let’s be good neighbors to each other and let’s be able to step into each other’s shoes and make good decisions for everyone,’” he said.
At the virtual meeting, a few people made complimentary remarks about Michael Lynch’s performance as Chair of the FAC.
Cortes Currents asked Ushi Koebberling about this at the BC Ferries open house, in Manson’s Hall, the following day.
“Having been on the committee for a long time and having experienced a different Chair before, it is a remarkable difference since Michael became Chair. The meetings are on time, they are clear to the agenda. He has introduced a conciliatory tone, whereas before one island was set against the other. So he has a very cooperative style, is very efficient in conducting the meeting. For me, that’s basically what makes him a good Chair,“ she said.
Top image credit: BC Ferry open house in Mansons Hall, Cortes Island, on Sat Feb 4, 2023 – Photo by Roy L Hales
Sign-up for Cortes Currents email-out:
To receive an emailed catalogue of articles on Cortes Currents, send a (blank) email to subscribe to your desired frequency:
- Daily, (articles posted during the last 24 hours) – cortescurrents-daily+subscribe@cortes.groups.io
- Weekly Digest cortescurrents – cortescurrents-weekly+subscribe@cortes.groups.io
Great article and visuals make this a very informative read.