BC Ferries CEO Outlines Challenges Of Going Green

BC Ferries is pushing hard to go green, but lack of government support isn’t making the process any easier according to its CEO.

BC Ferries is pushing hard to go green, but lack of government support isn’t making the process any easier according to its CEO.

During a Greater Victoria Chamber of Commerce speaking event last week, BC Ferries CEO Mark Collins outlined challenges facing the corporation’s sweeping goals to electrify its fleet.

BC Ferries has invested $600 million in low-carbon technology in the last eight years.

According to Collins, BC Ferries’s five primary Island Class ferries – diesel-electric hybrid vessels – will run with nearly zero carbon emissions by 2029 if proper shore charging infrastructure is built at their terminals.

In any infrastructure project undertaken by BC Ferries, however, 20 to 100 government permit processes between provincial and federal ministries each represent potential vetoes. At least five projects are currently stalled in the permit process.

Permit stalling also presents issues for improving the resiliency of B.C.’s supply chain. Collins gave the example that most BC Ferries terminals were constructed under 1960’s building codes and could be compromised in the event of a major earthquake.