A note from Tamara Olson of BC Ferries on the upcoming terminal work for Thetis Island.
Following up on the update for Phase 2 of the work planned for the Thetis Terminal.
We are pleased to report that the work at Chemainus Terminal is now completed and the work for Penelakut is well underway and expected to be finished by the end of the week.
As I noted in my earlier email, the work at Thetis is set to begin next week, and this work is anticipated to be wrapped up by the end of November.
For the first phase of work from mid-September through to mid-October there will be no operational impact, with work taking place in-between sailings.
During the second phase of the project, the scope needs longer stretches of time for it to be completed and access to the trestle and ramp. Because of this, the majority of the work will take place overnight (10 pm – 5:30 am), and it will require some cancellations to the last sailing of the evening to Thetis.
The dates of these are as follows:
Cancelled Sailings October 21 - November 1, 2024:
Monday to Thursday: 10:30pm departing Chemainus
Fridays: 10:50 pm departing Chemainus
Final Opportunity to Sail to Thetis Island:
Monday to Thursday: 8:55pm departing Chemainus
Fridays: 9:05 pm departing Chemainus
As the vessel will still be able to sail from Chemainus to Penelakut on this last sailing as scheduled, service to Penelakut on the above sailings and weekend schedules will remain unchanged.
The vessel will then return to Chemainus where it will tie up for the evening. There will be a dedicated overnight crew on the vessel who will sail the vessel in the morning to reposition it for the 6:00am sailing
where schedule will resume as normal. We are going to be sharing a Service Notice with this information today and will also provide an update on the community page. We will ensure the Service Notice is posted and distributed so everyone is aware of the last trip cancellation on the dates above.
And for your reference, when the team looked at the numbers, the vehicles carried are typically 1vehicle carried, sometimes 2, so we hope this last sailing cancellation over the 10 days will be minimal to most on the route, and that with the advanced notice for the mid-October cancellations the few that do use it will be able to make alternate arrangements if needed.
Thank you,
Tamara Olson (she/her)
Community Relations Manager
British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.
Submitted by: Keith Rush, Route 20 FAC
