BC Ferries’ newest hybrid electric ship transited the Panama Canal over the weekend and is now preparing for its trip home to British Columbia. Island 5, as it is temporarily named, departed Romania on July 31 under its own power. BC Ferries expects the ship to be in B.C. by late-September, depending on weather.
Together, Island 5 and Island 6 will allow for two-ship service on the Nanaimo Harbour – Gabriola Island route starting in 2022.
Q1 results for the three months ended June 30, 2021
+37% cars compared to Q1, 2020 and -27% compared to Q1, 2019 (pre-Covid)
+40% passengers compared to Q1, 2020 and -46% compared to Q1, 2019 (pre-Covid)
Revenues increased $91.8 million, primarily as a result of the Safe Restart Funding, increases in traffic volumes and net retail sales.
Net earnings were $4.7 million, an increase of $66.7 million compared to a net loss of $62.0 million in the same period in the prior year.
In December 2020, BC Ferries received $308 million through the Safe Restart Program, a federal-provincial initiative intended to help provinces and territories safely restart their economies.
Safe Restart Funding of $60.0 million was applied towards BC Ferries’ operating losses in the three months ended June 30, 2021. Without the Safe Restart Funding of $60.0 million, revenues in this period would have been $169.2 million and net losses would have been $55.3 million.
The company continues to modernize the fleet with four more battery-electric hybrid Island Class vessels and one more LNG-fuelled Salish Class vessel.
Capital expenditures in this quarter totalled $38.7 million and included new vessels, major overhauls and inspections, marine ramp structure upgrades, hardware upgrades and various other projects.
ISLAND NAGALIS and ISLAND K’ULUT’A are the newest vessels to enter the fleet, allowing two-ship service to begin on the Campbell River – Quadra Island route in 2022.
The names celebrate the important connection to some of the coastal communities the ferries will serve. In both Kwak̓wala and Lik̓wala, two of the Kwakwaka’wakw dialects, Nagalis means “dawn on the land” and K’ulut’a is the name for Porpoise.
Island Class ferries have the capacity to carry 47 vehicles and up to 400 passengers and crew. They are battery equipped ships designed for future full electric operation. The ships are fitted with hybrid technology that bridges the gap until shore charging infrastructure and funding becomes available in B.C.
The COVID-19 global pandemic has had a significant impact on the company’s operations and financial results.
-40% passengers (13.1 million)
-24% vehicles (6.7 million)
BC Ferries expects financial results to continue to improve, in part due to Safe Restart funding and as the provincial economy recovers from the effects of the pandemic. The company remains optimistic that traffic will begin to return as more travellers become vaccinated and as the Provincial Health Officer eases travel restrictions.
Impacts of Safe Restart funding:
Net earnings were $21.0 million, a decrease of $7.8 million compared to net earnings of $28.8 million in the prior year. This reflects BC Ferries’ recognition of $186.0 million from the $308 million in Safe Restart funding received this fiscal year. Without the $186.0 million in Safe Restart funding – recognized as revenue – the net loss for the year would have been $165.0 million.
Inclusive of the Safe Restart funding, revenues decreased by $76.1 million, or 8.1%. Without the revenue contributed by Safe Restart funding, fiscal 2021 total revenues would have decreased by $262.1 million to $679.3 million, or 27.8 % lower than in fiscal 2020.
In response to the impact of COVID-19 on ferry operations, BC Ferries reviewed all spending and reduced its operating expenses in fiscal 2021 by $76.3 million or 8.9%.
The reduction was mainly due to reduced round trips on the major routes and the deferral of certain discretionary costs. The expense reduction includes reduced labour costs, fuel consumption, contracted services, depreciation expense and other miscellaneous costs.
Following the departure of BC Ferries’ third Island Class ship in May, a fourth Island Class ferry has begun the journey from Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania to Victoria, B.C.
Depending on weather, it will take approximately 60 days for the yet-to-be named ship to make the transatlantic voyage under its own power. (10,700 nautical miles)
The Island Class is a hybrid diesel-electric ferry with a number of key features that support BC Ferries’ Clean Futures Plan and the company’s goal to be efficient and environmentally responsible throughout its system.
Q3
-39.6% or 2.9 million passengers
-22.3% or 1.6 million vehicles
Year-to-date
-42.1% or 10.6 million passengers
-26.9% or 5.3 million vehicles
The effects of COVID-19 have negatively impacted BC Ferries’ traffic and revenues over the current year. This trend is expected to continue in the near term as the province recovers from the effects of the pandemic.
In December 2020, BC Ferries received $308 million from the Safe Restart Program, a federal-provincial initiative.
BC Ferries applied nine months’ worth of Safe Restart funding, or $154.8 million, to Q3 revenues. Without this relief, the net loss for the three months ended December 31, 2020 would have been $56.4 million.
As a result of the funding, BC Ferries recorded net earnings of $98.4 million for the three months ended December 31, 2020, compared to a net loss of $8.3 million in the same quarter in the prior year.
On a year-to-date basis, BC Ferries’ net earnings were $74.3 million to December 31, 2020. Without federal-provincial Safe Restart funding, the company would have had a net loss of $80.5 million, compared to net earnings of $98.9 million in the same period in the prior year.
BC Ferries’ fourth Island Class ferry launched early Thursday morning 17 December, entering the water at Damen Shipyards Galati in Romania.
BC Ferries released its second quarter results today for the three and six months ended September 30, 2020. COVID-19 continues to have a significant impact on the company’s operations and financial results.
During the quarter, BC Ferries carried:
Year-to-date, the company has carried:
November 4, 2020. Blue Star Ferries’ ropax BLUE STAR DELOS was transferred to the Perama repair zone (Dock 1) in order to undergo her scheduled scrubber conversion. The popular “blue” ship is expected to return in service in February 2021, while she will be replaced by her fleetmate BLUE STAR CHIOS.
The sisters BLUE STAR CHIOS and BLUE STAR MYCONOS will follow, undergoing a similar conversion.
On October 28, Damen Shipyards Galati successfully launched the third Island Class Vessel for BC Ferries. The vessel is part of an order of six such vessels for the ferry operator and will perform an environmentally efficient inter-island ferry service between Vancouver and Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada.
