POWELL RIVER, B.C. – Wednesday marks the one-year anniversary of the Salish Orca.
One of BC Ferries’ newest vessels took its first run between Comox and Powell River on May 16, 2017.
“She has provided over 2500 sailings,” said Deborah Marshall, BC Ferries’ Executive Director of Public Affairs.
She said although the company is pleased with how the vessel has run over the last year, there have been some issues. On Sunday, a few sailings had to be cancelled due to a problem with the ship’s forward air compressor.
“It is normal to see a few glitches or a few hiccups with a vessel when you put it into service. You normally see that for the first two years,” she said.
“The Salish-class (vessels) have been performing exceptionally well for BC Ferries. We’re really pleased with the vessels, they’re operating on liquefied natural gas, so that’s better for the environment and it is more economical to operate.”
The Orca is one of three Salish-class vessels in the company’s fleet.
The others are the Eagle, which first set sail in June of 2017 and the Raven, which had its first run last summer.
“We expect to see these vessels performing very well for BC Ferries for the next 40 years. It’s new technology for BC Ferries and beautiful new ships for our customers.”
Marshall said the crew on-board will recognize the one-year anniversary of the Orca’s first sailing, and the company is going to “have a little fun” on social media for the occasion.
For more on the Salish-class vessels, visit bcferries.com.
