Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Dec 11, 2015 23:17:06 GMT -8
No kidding. I think the fine is $80 if you don't have the drivers license on you anyways - it's not like you have to park your car. The ticket agent basically delayed the sailing by 15 minutes because he thought he could go beyond the rights of a police officer.
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Post by Starsteward on Dec 12, 2015 6:46:59 GMT -8
No kidding. I think the fine is $80 if you don't have the drivers license on you anyways - it's not like you have to park your car. The ticket agent basically delayed the sailing by 15 minutes because he thought he could go beyond the rights of a police officer. The terminal attendant should be interviewed by whoever is his boss, a report written and forwarded up the BCF management 'totem pole'. You should also be afforded the courtesy to meet and discuss your side of this incident with the appropriate customer service representative from BCF. On the surface, it would appear that the BCF agent was exercising power(s) well beyond his authority as well as subjecting you and your children to a nightmarish experience, which sadly will be on your mind every time you travel with BCF in the future. IF, BCF actually follows through on the two steps I have proposed, I would sincerely hope that BCF would, as Mike Holmes is want to say: 'Make it right". Looking back at the nasty terminal attendant's actions, would it have crossed his mind or that of the driver/passenger that digging out your ICBC insurance papers been a). proof of residence, and b). your vehicle did indeed have current and sufficient insurance coverage. The issue of not producing a driver's license would have taken a back seat. Whenever I'm leaving my residence, I often smile, reflecting on a poetic, 4-item bit of advise give to me by a former Yiddish neighbour of yesteryear: "Test..les, Spectacles, Wallet and Watch". Many years later my old neighbour would have to add an item; that being, ones' cell phone.
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Post by Mike C on Dec 12, 2015 9:42:36 GMT -8
No driver's license, no ride, even as a foot passenger? There is more, follow the link from the Bowen Island Current below ...Though this incident involved a resident of Bowen Island it could have happened anywhere in BC Ferries' system. It appears to me that the Horseshoe Bay terminal attendants & security went well beyond the bounds of decency. www.bowenislandundercurrent.com/opinion/letters/bc-ferries-customer-service-1.2130965 Bizarre. I suppose there will always be employees who wish to reign their little fiefdom with an iron fist. Very frustrating.
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Post by bowenguy on Dec 19, 2015 21:57:48 GMT -8
No driver's license, no ride, even as a foot passenger? There is more, follow the link from the Bowen Island Current below ...Though this incident involved a resident of Bowen Island it could have happened anywhere in BC Ferries' system. It appears to me that the Horseshoe Bay terminal attendants & security went well beyond the bounds of decency. www.bowenislandundercurrent.com/opinion/letters/bc-ferries-customer-service-1.2130965
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,171
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Post by Neil on Dec 19, 2015 22:17:00 GMT -8
No driver's license, no ride, even as a foot passenger? There is more, follow the link from the Bowen Island Current below ...Though this incident involved a resident of Bowen Island it could have happened anywhere in BC Ferries' system. It appears to me that the Horseshoe Bay terminal attendants & security went well beyond the bounds of decency. www.bowenislandundercurrent.com/opinion/letters/bc-ferries-customer-service-1.2130965 'bowenguy', try again... I'd like to know what your comment is.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,171
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Post by Neil on Jul 5, 2016 21:55:10 GMT -8
One thing that's always interested me is what seems to be the various personalities of ferry dependent communities on our coast. This question occurred to me again in the last week, as I followed the facebook discussions regarding ferry service breakdowns at Denman and Hornby with the cable ferry, and at Texada, with the North Island Princess.
Clearly, these are very different situations. Hornby is a tourist resort for nine or ten weeks of the year, and the BS Con broke down on one of the busiest days, when the hordes were arriving for Canada Day weekend. Texada's breakdown happened on a Saturday... and Texada is not a resort island. Like Denman, it's more of a rural community, with a certain influx of summer visitors.
On Denman and Hornby, the facebook discussion was of a tearing-out-of-hair nature, with dark imprecations hurled at BC Ferries for their evil experiment that was destroying the islands' economies and way of life. (Admission: I somewhat shared that view.) On Texada, the tone seemed to be more "is the ferry running yet?", with some sentiments about the NIP being a dear old girl past her prime.
Facebook certainly isn't the ultimate barometer of community sentiment, but it's one expression, and the input from Denman and Hornby wasn't just from the usual malcontents, but included many names I didn't recognize. I wouldn't know about Texada, but I wonder if some communities are just more inclined to roll with the punches and accept the occasional trials that come with island life. Bowenians might storm the office of their West Van MLA if their morning muffins were eliminated, while Lasquetians are dead set against the notion of car ferry service. (And if you want some fun stories, check out the Lasqueti forum for tales of rough crossings on the Centurion VII.)
It's a varied coast, with a fascinating variety of communities. Something I think most of us eventually want to explore, as we get beyond just being ferry fans, and start being curious about how ferries are so essentially necessary to life in coastal British Columbia.
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KE7JFF
Chief Steward
Posts: 106
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Post by KE7JFF on Jul 16, 2016 9:26:10 GMT -8
In my travels on the Island and the few Gulf Islands I have been so far, I just get a feeling that some residents wish that WAC Bennett would rise from the grave and use some voodoo to bring back BC Ferries to the way it used to be.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jan 7, 2017 13:20:03 GMT -8
I visited Sointula recently, and I was chatting with locals about the impact of the 2 visits by Bowen Queen during 2016 (late spring and then more recently).
The Sointula residents loved the larger ship, which took away much of the stress and time-wasting of having to line-up early to ensure that a person & vehicle made a required peak-time sailing. For a few weeks, they got to relax and enjoy some extra time not spent in a ferry lineup.
The only occasional issue was the single-lane for overheight traffic, which would be overcome by loading some overheights on side lanes at either end of the ship.
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Post by mybidness459 on Feb 22, 2017 13:13:07 GMT -8
I am currently at the VIRL on Gabriola Island right now and when I came over on the Quinsam I got a shock when I went to get something out of the on board vending machine, a toonie for a lousy Chocolate bar. Ouch! Maybe I should pack my own snack when I ride the ferries. Something to keep in mind.
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Post by Low Light Mike on May 21, 2018 16:18:31 GMT -8
Here's a long report that looks interesting regarding the ferries impact on north-coast tourism. I haven't had time to read it yet, but I think I should.... HERE
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jun 10, 2018 17:14:10 GMT -8
The BC Ferry & Marine Workers Union (BCFMWU) does important work in advocating for its members' safety in situations related to: - the employer - the customer - the other union members The Union also takes a community leadership role in advancing workers rights, and general human rights. It is for all these purposes that the BCFMWU takes a lead role, as a lead sponsor of the Nanaimo Pride events, which culminated in the colourful Pride Parade in Nanaimo yesterday. Captain Vicki Smudge aboard the Queen of Solidarity is always a highlight of the parade. Here's a view of the Union entry to the parade, yesterday. . by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 6, 2018 10:51:10 GMT -8
The BC Ferry & Marine Workers Union (BCFMWU) takes a leadership role in promoting inclusion and a harassment-free workplace, both for the ferries system and society in general. This is evidenced by BCFMWU being a lead sponsor in local Pride festivals, and is likely also evidenced by the result shown here: The company is flying the Pride flag on all ships, for the month of July. Here's what I saw on July 2 & 3, 2018: Mayne Queen DSC00990 by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr Queen of Cumberland 20180703_064855 by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr It warms my heart to see a company flying the flag of inclusion. Well done, company and union.
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Post by Starsteward on Jul 6, 2018 12:37:04 GMT -8
WOW! Bravo 'BCFMWU' and 'BCFS' for flying, as 'Mike' quoted: the flag of inclusion, especially at a time when the 'decency of inclusion' is so under attack by parties we would expect better of. It is one thing to 'talk the talk', it's indeed more tangible to 'walk the walk'. … And another reason I'm proud to be Canadian! now pass the tissues dammit:)
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Post by paulvanb on Mar 7, 2019 11:40:51 GMT -8
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Post by Starsteward on Mar 7, 2019 12:22:27 GMT -8
The public has been aware for quite some time that as much as we would prefer new-builds were done here at home, our capacity to deliver vessels on time and on budget is unattainable. Shipping companies around the world, whether they are building ferries, cruise ships, cargo vessels of all descriptions are awarding contracts to companies with the ability to deliver those vessels that meet the above-mentioned parameters. Mark Collins is correct in pointing out that "we can't have our cake and eat it too", as it were. His math is correct in stating that building locally, while adding millions to the local economy would be a plus, the 'cost of fares' etc. would definitely be increased. We know that higher fares have historically lead to a downturn in passenger and vehicle traffic numbers. Overall, I would suspect that BCFS has been relatively pleased with the foreign-built vessels that have been added to the fleet. Yes there have been some 'issues' along the way with some of those vessels but all in all, BCFS is well on its' way to renewing the fleet and providing the level of services to all coastal communities that is mandated in the somewhat strange 'ferry-act' under which BCFS operates. We need only to look to the north and south of us to see what happens when vessel procurement is legislated to be done on a local basis. I don't think we would want to change places with either of those ferry administrations would we?
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Post by vancouverecho on Mar 8, 2019 19:39:20 GMT -8
More discussion in the news regarding BC Ferries having ships built in BC: vancouversun.com/news/local-news/built-in-b-c-ferries-would-mean-higher-fares-b-c-ferries-ceoBasically, building in BC per BC Ferries would tack on an additional 30-50% increase in the cost of the ship, with a resulting increase in the fares by 25% to recoup the costs. And no, cutting back on amenities onboard would not save money; that too would increase the fares by 25%; the onboard amenities bring in a lot of money for BC Ferries.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,171
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Post by Neil on Mar 8, 2019 20:36:28 GMT -8
More discussion in the news regarding BC Ferries having ships built in BC: vancouversun.com/news/local-news/built-in-b-c-ferries-would-mean-higher-fares-b-c-ferries-ceoBasically, building in BC per BC Ferries would tack on an additional 30-50% increase in the cost of the ship, with a resulting increase in the fares by 25% to recoup the costs. And no, cutting back on amenities onboard would not save money; that too would increase the fares by 25%; the onboard amenities bring in a lot of money for BC Ferries. You're just repeating claims that have been made by Mark Wilson. It might be worthwhile, though not easy, to get the perspective of Point Hope, WMG, and perhaps other builders on why they didn't bid on projects, and what premiums they might expect their bids might add. In addition, let's consider the stimulus to our economy in not just farming an entire generation of ships to Germany, Romania, or wherever. I'm not saying there is a clear way forward to building here. But let's not simplify things to the point of absurdity, which is what Wilson might be doing.
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Post by vancouverecho on Mar 9, 2019 0:20:05 GMT -8
More discussion in the news regarding BC Ferries having ships built in BC: vancouversun.com/news/local-news/built-in-b-c-ferries-would-mean-higher-fares-b-c-ferries-ceoBasically, building in BC per BC Ferries would tack on an additional 30-50% increase in the cost of the ship, with a resulting increase in the fares by 25% to recoup the costs. And no, cutting back on amenities onboard would not save money; that too would increase the fares by 25%; the onboard amenities bring in a lot of money for BC Ferries. You're just repeating claims that have been made by Mark Wilson. It might be worthwhile, though not easy, to get the perspective of Point Hope, WMG, and perhaps other builders on why they didn't bid on projects, and what premiums they might expect their bids might add. In addition, let's consider the stimulus to our economy in not just farming an entire generation of ships to Germany, Romania, or wherever. I'm not saying there is a clear way forward to building here. But let's not simplify things to the point of absurdity, which is what Wilson might be doing. This why I would say is a problem for all government procurement, and the reason why most government procurement goes sideways these days, and blows budgets and timelines.
The objective of government procurement (or quasi-government procurement in the case of BC Ferries) is to acquire the required goods and services at the best possible price in the most transparent method possible. This has been codified into law by various government acts and agreements, such as the Government Contracting Regulations and the Agreement on Internal Trade.
Considerations about other political objectives, such as job creation, is at best secondary or a tertiary concern unless those objectives are made front and centre (and thus, transparent) of the procurement process. And even then, if we are asking the private sector or even a Crown corporation to do so, they need to be compensated for this. That means in the case of building and overhauling ships for BC Ferries, the province needs to either provide a subsidy to BC Ferries that covers the cost difference between building offshore and building locally, or allow BC Ferries to recoup the cost difference through fares.
And if the provincial government is unwilling to compensate BC Ferries for this, then the provincial government needs to keep their noses out.
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Post by Starsteward on Mar 9, 2019 12:48:18 GMT -8
More discussion in the news regarding BC Ferries having ships built in BC: vancouversun.com/news/local-news/built-in-b-c-ferries-would-mean-higher-fares-b-c-ferries-ceoBasically, building in BC per BC Ferries would tack on an additional 30-50% increase in the cost of the ship, with a resulting increase in the fares by 25% to recoup the costs. And no, cutting back on amenities onboard would not save money; that too would increase the fares by 25%; the onboard amenities bring in a lot of money for BC Ferries. You're just repeating claims that have been made by Mark Wilson. It might be worthwhile, though not easy, to get the perspective of Point Hope, WMG, and perhaps other builders on why they didn't bid on projects, and what premiums they might expect their bids might add. In addition, let's consider the stimulus to our economy in not just farming an entire generation of ships to Germany, Romania, or wherever. I'm not saying there is a clear way forward to building here. But let's not simplify things to the point of absurdity, which is what Wilson might be doing. I agree with 'Neil' that there is no clear way of committing to build vessels in local or Canadian shipyards, however, I would suggest that one might seek the opinions of those folks responsible for vessel procurement for the Federal government, ie. Navy, fisheries, coast guard, etc. whereby they would spend hours narrating the quagmire of issues and problems the Feds have getting new vessels built in this country! Costs, 'political' considerations, delays, budget over-runs, delivery delays, and let's not forget the millions of taxpayer dollars that have been 'donated' to the Davie shipyards in particular. If the Feds wanted to cast 'nationalistic rhetoric aside, the procurement of most vessels for all branches of government service would be built offshore, just as many other countries are doing at present. Yes, God bless America for hanging onto the 'build in America' edict, however, one doesn't have to go too far in uncovering some nasty problems that 'local' procurement has washed up on their beaches. Delays and massive cost overruns are but two of the major culprits uncovered in the 'buy America' program. I believe the good folks that are tasked with operating ferries in the States of Alaska and Washington might have an opinion or two on what plan(s) they might have to fix their nightmarish fleet problems. I'm absolutely not running for president of the 'Mark Collins' fan club, ( he should be on his knees nightly hoping the 'NSW' gets to the starting gate this Spring as advertised) but his argument for off-shore vessel procurement, (new vessels only please), does, in the overall picture, make sense. BCFS has had relatively good success at going abroad to acquire new vessels. Yes, it would be grand if we could turn back the clock to the good old days of V.M.D., Burrard-Yarrows etc., but sadly those days are only historical pleasures and fond memories.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,171
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Post by Neil on Mar 9, 2019 21:59:04 GMT -8
You're just repeating claims that have been made by Mark Wilson. It might be worthwhile, though not easy, to get the perspective of Point Hope, WMG, and perhaps other builders on why they didn't bid on projects, and what premiums they might expect their bids might add. In addition, let's consider the stimulus to our economy in not just farming an entire generation of ships to Germany, Romania, or wherever. I'm not saying there is a clear way forward to building here. But let's not simplify things to the point of absurdity, which is what Wilson might be doing. I agree with 'Neil' that there is no clear way of committing to build vessels in local or Canadian shipyards, however, I would suggest that one might seek the opinions of those folks responsible for vessel procurement for the Federal government, ie. Navy, fisheries, coast guard, etc. whereby they would spend hours narrating the quagmire of issues and problems the Feds have getting new vessels built in this country! Costs, 'political' considerations, delays, budget over-runs, delivery delays, and let's not forget the millions of taxpayer dollars that have been 'donated' to the Davie shipyards in particular. If the Feds wanted to cast 'nationalistic rhetoric aside, the procurement of most vessels for all branches of government service would be built offshore, just as many other countries are doing at present. Yes, God bless America for hanging onto the 'build in America' edict, however, one doesn't have to go too far in uncovering some nasty problems that 'local' procurement has washed up on their beaches. Delays and massive cost overruns are but two of the major culprits uncovered in the 'buy America' program. I believe the good folks that are tasked with operating ferries in the States of Alaska and Washington might have an opinion or two on what plan(s) they might have to fix their nightmarish fleet problems. I'm absolutely not running for president of the 'Mark Collins' fan club, ( he should be on his knees nightly hoping the 'NSW' gets to the starting gate this Spring as advertised) but his argument for off-shore vessel procurement, (new vessels only please), does, in the overall picture, make sense. BCFS has had relatively good success at going abroad to acquire new vessels. Yes, it would be grand if we could turn back the clock to the good old days of V.M.D., Burrard-Yarrows etc., but sadly those days are only historical pleasures and fond memories. I'm really clear on the unlikely logistics of building major ships here... no quarrel with Wilson on that point. WMG for one is committed to federal projects and seems unwilling to fit ferries into their schedule. Where Mark Wilson went overboard, in my opinion, was in his estimates regarding the premium to be paid on building here, were local yards successful on contracts, and his inflammatory statement that such a premium would add correspondingly to fares. Our current government has made some statements about the value of building ships here as opposed to overseas. They seem to have an understanding that paying more- whether it be 5% or more, who knows, would be offset by the injection of capital into our local economy, and the notion that they would tack the extra cost onto fares is ridiculous. Wilson was laying out a worst case scenario, and in my mind, was going beyond his role as the government's agent in charge of administering ferry policy.
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Post by vancouverecho on Mar 9, 2019 23:53:45 GMT -8
I agree with 'Neil' that there is no clear way of committing to build vessels in local or Canadian shipyards, however, I would suggest that one might seek the opinions of those folks responsible for vessel procurement for the Federal government, ie. Navy, fisheries, coast guard, etc. whereby they would spend hours narrating the quagmire of issues and problems the Feds have getting new vessels built in this country! Costs, 'political' considerations, delays, budget over-runs, delivery delays, and let's not forget the millions of taxpayer dollars that have been 'donated' to the Davie shipyards in particular. If the Feds wanted to cast 'nationalistic rhetoric aside, the procurement of most vessels for all branches of government service would be built offshore, just as many other countries are doing at present. Yes, God bless America for hanging onto the 'build in America' edict, however, one doesn't have to go too far in uncovering some nasty problems that 'local' procurement has washed up on their beaches. Delays and massive cost overruns are but two of the major culprits uncovered in the 'buy America' program. I believe the good folks that are tasked with operating ferries in the States of Alaska and Washington might have an opinion or two on what plan(s) they might have to fix their nightmarish fleet problems. I'm absolutely not running for president of the 'Mark Collins' fan club, ( he should be on his knees nightly hoping the 'NSW' gets to the starting gate this Spring as advertised) but his argument for off-shore vessel procurement, (new vessels only please), does, in the overall picture, make sense. BCFS has had relatively good success at going abroad to acquire new vessels. Yes, it would be grand if we could turn back the clock to the good old days of V.M.D., Burrard-Yarrows etc., but sadly those days are only historical pleasures and fond memories. I'm really clear on the unlikely logistics of building major ships here... no quarrel with Wilson on that point. WMG for one is committed to federal projects and seems unwilling to fit ferries into their schedule. Where Mark Wilson went overboard, in my opinion, was in his estimates regarding the premium to be paid on building here, were local yards successful on contracts, and his inflammatory statement that such a premium would add correspondingly to fares. Our current government has made some statements about the value of building ships here as opposed to overseas. They seem to have an understanding that paying more- whether it be 5% or more, who knows, would be offset by the injection of capital into our local economy, and the notion that they would tack the extra cost onto fares is ridiculous. Wilson was laying out a worst case scenario, and in my mind, was going beyond his role as the government's agent in charge of administering ferry policy. The problem from BC Ferries standpoint is that if you require them to build ships locally, and there is a significant price premium to building in BC (remember BC Ferries probably does have a good idea of the cost through their various tenders), BC Ferries needs to be compensated for the price difference to recover the costs.
It's either the government opens the cheque book and gives BC Ferries a subsidy that covers the costs, or the government allows BC Ferries to increase fares.
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Nick
Voyager
Chief Engineer - Queen of Richmond
Posts: 2,078
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Post by Nick on Mar 10, 2019 12:43:47 GMT -8
The cost overruns on the current federal shipbuilding projects (notably the CCGS Franklin and other offshore fisheries science vessels) are astronomical. The last price tag I heard of for the Franklin was well over 500million, and that's a 65m fishing boat. The cost for all 3 OFSVs is already well over $1B. I honestly think Wilson was understated in his cost estimates of building here. Keep in mind, design work for these ships started in 2011, and the first ship, the Franklin, was supposed to be delivered in 2014. Here we are in 2019 and the CG still hasn't taken delivery.
In another 5-10 years the NSPS will be well entrenched and have delivered the federal projects, which all according to plan, will result in an efficient, competitive shipyard. At that time, we can revisit the idea of building locally, maybe for a small premium. Until then, I don't want my tax dollars subsidizing the shipyards, because no matter how you swing the numbers there's no way the secondary benefits will pay back the additional cost.
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Neil
Voyager
Posts: 7,171
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Post by Neil on Mar 10, 2019 19:36:10 GMT -8
The cost overruns on the current federal shipbuilding projects (notably the CCGS Franklin and other offshore fisheries science vessels) are astronomical. The last price tag I heard of for the Franklin was well over 500million, and that's a 65m fishing boat. The cost for all 3 OFSVs is already well over $1B. I honestly think Wilson was understated in his cost estimates of building here. Keep in mind, design work for these ships started in 2011, and the first ship, the Franklin, was supposed to be delivered in 2014. Here we are in 2019 and the CG still hasn't taken delivery. In another 5-10 years the NSPS will be well entrenched and have delivered the federal projects, which all according to plan, will result in an efficient, competitive shipyard. At that time, we can revisit the idea of building locally, maybe for a small premium. Until then, I don't want my tax dollars subsidizing the shipyards, because no matter how you swing the numbers there's no way the secondary benefits will pay back the additional cost. Bottom line, it's a moot point, with regard to building here. WMG haven't been a part of the final bidding process for major newbuilds, and not even for some smaller ferries. They consider themselves busy enough with federal work, and refits. Can't argue with their business decisions. My quarrel was with Mark Wilson putting a dollar value on bids that, as far as I can tell, have never been made. As well as him ignoring statements from the provincial government that a premium would be worth paying to keep projects here. Obviously, Horgan and company would not be suggesting that that premium be tacked onto fares. Nick might actually be sounding an optimistic note, although I disagree with him equating ferry builds with more complicated vessels, not to mention the role the feds have played in screwing up the process of procurement. Post federal projects, maybe what's left of our yards might actually be properly geared up and staffed to take on future ferry projects... and we know the fleet will need renewing for a long time to come. One can hope, anyway.
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Post by vancouverecho on Mar 22, 2019 0:07:17 GMT -8
The cost overruns on the current federal shipbuilding projects (notably the CCGS Franklin and other offshore fisheries science vessels) are astronomical. The last price tag I heard of for the Franklin was well over 500million, and that's a 65m fishing boat. The cost for all 3 OFSVs is already well over $1B. I honestly think Wilson was understated in his cost estimates of building here. Keep in mind, design work for these ships started in 2011, and the first ship, the Franklin, was supposed to be delivered in 2014. Here we are in 2019 and the CG still hasn't taken delivery. In another 5-10 years the NSPS will be well entrenched and have delivered the federal projects, which all according to plan, will result in an efficient, competitive shipyard. At that time, we can revisit the idea of building locally, maybe for a small premium. Until then, I don't want my tax dollars subsidizing the shipyards, because no matter how you swing the numbers there's no way the secondary benefits will pay back the additional cost. Bottom line, it's a moot point, with regard to building here. WMG haven't been a part of the final bidding process for major newbuilds, and not even for some smaller ferries. They consider themselves busy enough with federal work, and refits. Can't argue with their business decisions. My quarrel was with Mark Wilson putting a dollar value on bids that, as far as I can tell, have never been made. As well as him ignoring statements from the provincial government that a premium would be worth paying to keep projects here. Obviously, Horgan and company would not be suggesting that that premium be tacked onto fares. Nick might actually be sounding an optimistic note, although I disagree with him equating ferry builds with more complicated vessels, not to mention the role the feds have played in screwing up the process of procurement. Post federal projects, maybe what's left of our yards might actually be properly geared up and staffed to take on future ferry projects... and we know the fleet will need renewing for a long time to come. One can hope, anyway. The problem I see is that the only shipyard capable of building the full size range of ships in BC for BC Ferries, Seaspan, isn't available to build the ships due to their commitments to the federal government. There's no one else in BC that has the size and capabilities that's even remotely close in terms of what they can do.
To want to build these ferries in BC would require that another large shipyard be built from the ground up, or have a much smaller yard greatly expanded, at great cost, in order to accommodate the amount of work.
Following that, there's no guarantee that this shipyard would be sustainable in the long term; even if BC Ferries were to exclusively buy new ferries from this new yard, there will be very long stretches where there's no work at the yard, leading to long term shutdowns, with the associated loss of knowledge and skill. Even overhaul and repair work isn't a guarantee; there's plenty of yards in BC capable of performing such work, and that work is highly competitive anyways.
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Post by Low Light Mike on Jul 10, 2019 11:10:34 GMT -8
The BCFMWU are good supporters of the local Pride festivities, and its good to see the flag flying from the mast. 20190707_194955 by Mike Bonkowski, on Flickr
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