Victorians are in for a treat tomorrow, Friday January 24th!
Two new ferries are being unloaded into the Pacific Ocean and tugged to the Point Hope Maritime shipyard.
The new ships are two of a new hybrid electric class, which will be converted into BC Ferries new all-electric ships once the appropriate charging infrastructure is made available.
They have been transported all the way from Croatia, where they were built, on top of a carrier vessel called the Sun Rise. On Friday, they will be removed from their carrier in the ocean near Royal Roads and touch down independently in the west coast waters.
Afterwards, they will be taken by tugboat to Point Hope Maritime shipyard in the Upper Harbour.
The unloading process will take several hours, but offers an incredibly unique opportunity to see the ferries before their usage on the Powell River – Texada Island and Port McNeill – Alert Bay – Sointula routes in mid-2020.
See also: New BC Ferries hybrid ships arrive in Victoria tomorrow
BC Ferries says that the best viewing spot is Esquimalt Lagoon, across the water from Point Hope Maritime, right where the Sun Rise will anchor and begin unloading the two ships.
They also recommend the pedestrian walkway of the Johnson Street Bridge, which will be raised to accommodate the ferries passing through.
Timeline of events
Here is a rough timeline of the unloading events (with times likely to change). You should also feel free to join Victoria Buzz in trying to watch some, if not all, of the exciting process!
- Late Thursday Night — The Sun Rise leaves Ogden Point and anchors off of Royal Road, beginning its submerging process which takes up to eight hours
- Friday morning, 10:30 a.m. — The first ferry starts being towed to Point Hope
- 12:00 p.m. — The ferry arrives at Point Hope
- 2:30 p.m. — The second ferry then starts being towed to Point Hope
- 4:00 p.m. — The second ferry arrives at Point Hope
