NANAIMO – Another proponent has reportedly come forward to provide a fast foot passenger ferry service from downtown Nanaimo to downtown Vancouver in 2021, if approved by the Port of Nanaimo.
It has been three years since the Port of Nanaimo provided a tentative term sheet to Island Ferries Services Ltd. (IFSL) in 2017. Since that time there have been ongoing discussions with IFSL.
IFSL expressed an interest in providing a service as far back as 2014, and there have been other companies that have also looked into the possibility of making a new link between Nanaimo and Vancouver. BC Ferries announced in August that they are not interested in creating a foot passenger link between Vancouver and Nanaimo. There have been two previous attempts at the service, first by Royal Sealink Express then Harbourlynx, which ceased in 2006.
This new proposal promises to provide significant job opportunities, as well as a superior environmental profile as compared to other commercially available water transportation options. They view it as a high-tech solution that presents significant economic and environmental benefits.
The as yet unnamed Vancouver-based company has made its interest in providing the service known to the Port of Nanaimo, but the Port and the highest levels of government are bound to Non-Disclosure Agreements that protect the patented technologies that would be involved in the service.
A first round of press conferences to all forms of media will occur within weeks of approval being granted by the government and the Port of Nanaimo.
Central Vancouver Island real estate markets are strong, and the expectation is that a foot passenger ferry would increase demand, since it would offer a commuting link where employees would work in Vancouver and live in Nanaimo, where housing is much more affordable.
