BURSTPort McNeill and Alert Bay elected officials and residents alike are frustrated with the temporary replacement ferry serving the routes of the communities.
On Oct. 14, the decommissioned Quadra Queen II was brought back into service to replace the Island Aurora. The changed reduced capacity on the route from 47 vehicles to 26 per trip.
The lack of space has left people stranded, late for work or appointments, and car-less on the wrong side of the water.
ʼNa̱mǥis First Nation elected Coun. Ernest Alfred says tensions are growing and people are getting frustrated.
“The Quadra Queen is too small and cannot accommodate all our communities’ daily needs. Medical appointments have been missed, teachers and students are delayed or missing school, businesses and local economies are impacted,” he told the Gazette. “The Quadra Queen is much smaller, therefore crews are having to load vehicles a lot more carefully, but slower, resulting in chronic delays.”
Alfred says riding in the ferry does not feel safe and that passengers have described the conditions of the ferry as cramped. People can not exit their vehicles due to these conditions.
“What if an Elder or a child needs to use the restroom?” he asked.
Michelle Jensen, a daily commuter on the Malcolm Island-Port McNeill-Alert Bay route and a resident of Sointula, published an open letter to BC Ferries on Nov. 20 on Facebook.
“The recent vessel replacement has resulted in a level of service that is neither reliable nor adequate for the needs of our communities,” she wrote. “Since the replacement, the vessel assigned to this route has insufficient capacity to handle the regular volume of passengers and vehicles.”
As a result, she wrote, commuters are experiencing frequent overloads, significant schedule delays caused directly by these overloads, which have forced some passengers to wait three or more hours for the next sailing, additional delays due to weather, refueling, and other operational limitations, and unpredictable travel times.
“These issues are not occasional inconveniences; they are daily, ongoing disruptions. For commuters, this has a real and measurable impact on employment, scheduling, and overall well-being,” she wrote.
Jensen’s open letter included four requests of BC Ferries, which included a review of the Quadra Queen II’s assignment to the route, reinstating a vessel with the sufficient capacity to meet commuter and resident demand, addressing operational reliability concerns created by the Quadra Queen II’s limitations, and provide clarity on what steps will be taken to restore consistent, dependable service.
Gaby Wickstrom, former Port McNeill mayor and COO and interim CEO of the ‘ʼNa̱mǥis Business Development Corp., also published a letter to BC Ferries on Facebook on Nov. 20.
“Your decision to put the smaller Quadra Queen II vessel on the Port McNeill, Sointula and Alert Bay run for six months is not working,” she wrote. “We have commuters, teachers, health care professionals, construction workers with equipment, and a plethora of other activities that are severely hampering the movement of traffic on and off the islands.
Elected officials, First Nations and other interested parties pled with you in a meeting to find another solution. We ask politely if a vessel could be taken from the Campbell River area and the QQ2 would be used there inconveniencing every other run, but you were firm with your no.”
Alfred also mentioned the idea of Quadra Queen II being sent to the Campbell River and Quadra route and reinstating the Island Aurora as the solution. He also said BC Ferries should bring back the Community Advisory Board and meet with community leaders.
“We once had a community advisory committee that would meet regularly to discuss and consult with community leaders to resolve any issues of concern,” he said. “The advisory board was simply dissolved some time ago. Chiefs, mayors and community members have expressed concerns prior, but those have fallen on deaf ears.”
Alfred did say that the crew of the Quadra Queen II are doing the best job possible and thanked them.
“We realize the issue is in the hands of BCF management, and this situation is not the fault of ferry workers,” he said. “We ask for everyone’s patience while we seek solutions.”
BC Ferries have yet to respond to questions.