BC Ferries celebrated the one-year anniversary of its cable ferry, the Baynes Sound Connector, since it entered service on the Buckley Bay — Denman Island route. As of January 31, 2017, the vessel has provided over 10,200 sailings and carried more than 249,000 vehicles since it officially started operation last February.
“The Baynes Sound Connector has certainly met and exceeded our expectations,” said Captain Jamie Marshall, BC Ferries’ vice president of fleet operations. “The ship consumes 50 per cent less fuel than the previous vessel, it has the ability to make more trips at peak times when demand is high, and its on-time performance is at 97.6 per cent.”
There have been 54 occasions involving British Columbia Ambulance Service where the Baynes Sound Connector was called out after hours, made an extra sailing during the operational day, or adjusted a sailing time to assist with the transportation of patients during medical emergencies. In August 2016, the crew rescued a young swimmer in distress off of Buckley Bay in fewer than 12 minutes.
Under the Navigation Protection Act, boaters and commercial operators cannot cross in front of or behind the cable ferry while it is in transit. Red and green LED lights are installed at both Buckley Bay and Denman West to assist marine traffic. “We’d like to thank the BC Shellfish Growers’ Association for working collaboratively with BC Ferries in such a positive way,” said Marshall. “We also have a protocol in place for the herring fishery in the area and we’ve operated successfully with that industry as well.”
The Baynes Sound Connector started conducting soft sailings on January 22, 2016, and officially assumed regular full-time service on February 9, 2016.
