Posted: Tuesday, September 8 at 11:38 am
RBC GranFondo
Horseshoe Bay Sailings
Saturday, September 12, 2026
The RBC GranFondo Whistler cycling event from downtown Vancouver to Whistler will take place on Saturday, September 12. Traffic modifications will be in effect for customers travelling through the Horseshoe Bay terminal before 9:30 am on that day.
Customers planning to travel on sailings departing Horseshoe Bay on the morning of Saturday, September 12, please note that Westbound Highway 1 and northbound Highway 99 traffic will be rerouted via Exit 2 to Old Highway 99, also known as Horseshoe Bay Drive, and will re-enter northbound Highway 99 at Pasco Road.
The detour will be in effect from 5:30 am to 10:30 am. We suggest customers allow enough travel time to arrive at the terminal before the scheduled sailing of their choice.
For customers travelling on sailings that arrive at Horseshoe Bay terminal before 9:00 am on September 12, traffic leaving Horseshoe Bay will be rerouted to Marine Drive through West Vancouver from 5:30 am to 9:00 am.
Eastbound heavy trucks travelling between Horseshoe Bay, Taylor Way, and southbound Highway 99 will be redirected to a temporary holding area in Horseshoe Bay from 5:30 am to 9:00 am.
Heavy trucks will not be permitted on Marine Drive through West Vancouver during this period and may re-enter Highway 1 after the eastbound lanes reopen.
BC Ferries wishes all the participants success in the RBC GranFondo Whistler event. For further information about the revised traffic patterns, visit RBCGranfondo.
For up-to-date sailing and departure information, check Current Conditions, follow @BCFerries on X, or phone 1-888-223-3779 for further assistance.
24-002
January 16, 2024
BC FERRIES AWARDS CONTRACT FOR NEW HYBRID ELECTRIC VESSELS
VICTORIA – Damen Shipyards Group (Damen) is the successful proponent to build four new hybrid electric Island Class vessels for BC Ferries that will add capacity across the system and help improve the travel experience for passengers.
“The new hybrid electric vessels will further standardize our fleet, both increasing capacity and improving our flexibility to move ships across routes so our passengers can have confidence that we’ll get them where they need to go,” said Nicolas Jimenez, BC Ferries’ President and CEO. “Adding more Island Class vessels will also make it easier to deploy crew, create efficiencies in training costs, and promote safe, reliable and environmentally conscious ferry services up and down the coast.”
Damen, the same shipyard that built BC Ferries’ previous six Island Class ferries, is based out of the Netherlands and will build the vessels in Romania. Its bid was selected from among several proposals received from around the world. No Canadian companies submitted a bid.
This agreement with Damen is a design-build, fixed-priced contract that provides BC Ferries with substantial guarantees related to delivery dates, performance criteria, cost certainty and quality construction.
“We are super excited and extremely pleased with the award of four more Island Class type vessels for BC Ferries,” said Leo Postma, Damen’s Area Director Americas. “We have teamed up with the technical staff of BC Ferries now for seven years and together we developed a very efficient series of 10 ferries in total that meet all of the future requirements of safe, reliable and sustainable waterborne public transport.”
The new ships will carry at least 47 vehicles and up to 390 passengers and crew, and will have a number of features that support BC Ferries’ Clean Futures Plan goals of being efficient and environmentally responsible throughout its fleet and operations. The company plans to operate these new vessels exclusively in battery-electric mode, using renewable BC Hydro electricity.
The four new vessels will enter service by 2027 on the routes connecting Nanaimo Harbour and Gabriola Island (two vessels) and Campbell River and Quadra Island (two vessels). Through a separate contract, BC Ferries will also initiate corresponding electrical upgrades for shore-based rapid charging at the four terminals on these routes, in time for ship delivery.
Learn more:
- Refer to our release on the BC Ferries Commissioner's approval of this major expenditure project
- View the BC Ferries Commissioner’s ruling
Media Contact:
BC Ferries, Media Relations
(250) 978-1267
media@bcferries.com
Customer Contact:
Victoria: (250) 410-1465
Toll-free: 1-888-BCFERRY (1-888-223-3779)
Note to newsrooms: For urgent media inquiries off-hours, call our emergency line at (250) 516-7211.
Backgrounder:
Damen has an agreement with Point Hope Shipyards in Victoria to provide technical and warranty support for the new vessels, ensuring repair and maintenance activities will be performed in British Columbia. Beyond that, BC Ferries operates its own Fleet Maintenance Unit (FMU) and spends approximately $36M on routine vessel maintenance annually, with the vast majority of these funds being invested locally.
Damen Shipyards Group operates 35 shipbuilding and repair yards globally, employing 11,000 people. The company has delivered more than 7,000 vessels in more than 100 countries with an output of around 150 vessels annually worldwide. Damen previously delivered six Island Class vessels for BC Ferries between 2020 and 2022.