Post by tyty on Apr 13, 2006 23:30:41 GMT -8
BC Ferries could fly passengers to Queen Charlottes this summer to free up QPR for Inside Passage
VICTORIA (CBC) -- BC Ferries is considering a plan to replace summer ferry service to the Queen Charlotte Islands with float planes, barges and tugs.
Officials say it's just one of the options under consideration in case a replacement vessel can't be found for the Queen of the North, which sank last month in Wright Sound.
Its loss has left BC Ferries with just one vessel to service the area. Starting next Wednesday, the Queen of Prince Rupert will be back in service between Port Hardy on northern Vancouver Island, Prince Rupert and the Queen Charlottes islands.
BC Ferries adds a second ferry every summer to take about 10,000 tourists to the north coast.
However, spokeswoman Deborah Marshall said they're now looking at other options, including the cancellation of ferry service between Prince Rupert and the Queen Charlottes.
"Currently, we do have a tug and barge service over to the Charlottes with air travel supplementing passengers," she said. "That is part of the consideration as part of any service mix."
Marshall said BC Ferries is following 100 leads on vessels that could replace the Queen of the North. The company will decide within two weeks what will happen to summer ferry service in the north.
Sleeping berths reserved for crew
The president of the union representing ferry workers says she has negotiated an agreement with BC Ferries to ensure no crew member on the Queen of Prince Rupert sleeps below the waterline.
The deal means that, with the exception of people with disabilities or who fall ill during the trip, there won't be sleeping berths available for passengers.
Jackie Miller of the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers' Union told CBC Radio her members are passionate about the issue.
"Canadian law does not prohibit crew from going below the waterline, but it certainly prohibits passengers," she said.
"And I think they feel that there's kind of a double standard there – that the crew that's going to save the passengers' lives is placed at the greatest danger, down below the waterline."
When the Queen of the North ran aground last month, some crew had water up to their necks before they could escape from their cabins.
VICTORIA (CBC) -- BC Ferries is considering a plan to replace summer ferry service to the Queen Charlotte Islands with float planes, barges and tugs.
Officials say it's just one of the options under consideration in case a replacement vessel can't be found for the Queen of the North, which sank last month in Wright Sound.
Its loss has left BC Ferries with just one vessel to service the area. Starting next Wednesday, the Queen of Prince Rupert will be back in service between Port Hardy on northern Vancouver Island, Prince Rupert and the Queen Charlottes islands.
BC Ferries adds a second ferry every summer to take about 10,000 tourists to the north coast.
However, spokeswoman Deborah Marshall said they're now looking at other options, including the cancellation of ferry service between Prince Rupert and the Queen Charlottes.
"Currently, we do have a tug and barge service over to the Charlottes with air travel supplementing passengers," she said. "That is part of the consideration as part of any service mix."
Marshall said BC Ferries is following 100 leads on vessels that could replace the Queen of the North. The company will decide within two weeks what will happen to summer ferry service in the north.
Sleeping berths reserved for crew
The president of the union representing ferry workers says she has negotiated an agreement with BC Ferries to ensure no crew member on the Queen of Prince Rupert sleeps below the waterline.
The deal means that, with the exception of people with disabilities or who fall ill during the trip, there won't be sleeping berths available for passengers.
Jackie Miller of the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers' Union told CBC Radio her members are passionate about the issue.
"Canadian law does not prohibit crew from going below the waterline, but it certainly prohibits passengers," she said.
"And I think they feel that there's kind of a double standard there – that the crew that's going to save the passengers' lives is placed at the greatest danger, down below the waterline."
When the Queen of the North ran aground last month, some crew had water up to their necks before they could escape from their cabins.