Hullo: Inside the new Vancouver to Nanaimo ferries (PHOTOS/VIDEOS)

Hullo Ferries: Inside the new downtown Vancouver to Nanaimo ferries (PHOTOS/VIDEOS)

Hullo Ferries' Spuhels vessel at the Nanaimo Port Authority terminal. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Operators and local officials are painting a picture of Hullo Ferries being a game changer for Nanaimo, and for the diversification of transportation options between Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver.

The privately-owned and operated service intends to check the boxes for speed, scheduled frequency, reliability, and pricing competitiveness to meet the demands and interests of regular commuters, day trippers, and tourists.

This daily, multi-roundtrip service is now scheduled to launch on August 14, 2023 — over 16 years after Harbour Lynx, a similar privately-operated, passenger-only, catamaran ferry service between downtown Nanaimo and downtown Vancouver, made its last sailing.

Planning for a rebirth of this direct route between the city centres first began about four years ago, and the service was formally announced late last year.

You might also like:

“The communities, certainly in Nanaimo, have wanted a service like this for a long time since some of the previous ones failed,” Alastair Caddick, the CEO of Hullo Ferries, told Daily Hive Urbanized on Thursday, during an on-site tour of the vessels at the Nanaimo Port Authority facility. While the vessels are fully ready, construction crews were in the process of completing final touches to the facilities that directly support Hullo passengers.

“The partners that we’re working with — the First Nations, Nanaimo Port Authority, Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre, and certainly the politicians — have all wanted the service for a long time. We’re just thrilled to come into partnerships to launch this service because the communities really want it,” said Caddick.

Hullo Ferries’ Spuhels vessel at the Nanaimo Port Authority terminal. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Comfort (economy) class seats on Hullo Ferries. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Boarding and walking through Hullo Ferries’ Spuhels vessel. 2/5https://t.co/Tn7TD1hMP4 pic.twitter.com/yeCxdT7dNN

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) July 21, 2023

Caddick believes the market size conditions have never been better, and the strategic design of their operations have set up Hullo Ferries for the best chance of success.

He says “everything has changed” ever since the previous short-lived Harbour Lynx service went bankrupt in 2006, including significant population growth in both Nanaimo and Vancouver, and the increased interest from Lower Mainland residents to visit Vancouver Island for their getaway.

Since 2006, BC’s tourism industry and the number of out-of-province overnight visitors have grown tremendously, and the opening of SkyTrain Canada Line in 2009 and other public transit improvements have funnelled more people into downtown Vancouver.

As well, the pandemic has changed how people work. With semi-remote office work showing no signs of abating, he suggests Vancouver office workers can now live on Vancouver Island and commute to Vancouver for one or two days per week.

“A service like this allows commuters to live on the Island and still work downtown. There is enormous demand,” said Caddick.

Comfort (economy) class seats on Hullo Ferries. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Large luggage storage areas on a Hullo Ferries vessel. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Storage area for luggage and big bags on Hullo Ferries’ Spuhels. The lower deck is dedicated to Comfort (economy) seats. 5/5https://t.co/Tn7TD1hMP4 pic.twitter.com/dqm68OskBo

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) July 21, 2023

Donna Hais, the chair of the board of directors for the Nanaimo Port Authority, expects the service to be “a raving success.” She says the port authority has discussed the idea for such a service every single year over the nine years she has sat on the board.

“As the fifth fastest growing city in Canada, I can tell you that as our population grows, the need for unfettered access has become more demanding. We’re growing way too fast for everyone to keep up. This service will be well used,” she said.

Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog says “all the folks in central and northern Vancouver Island have been waiting a very long time.”

“This is a tangible recognition of the importance of this city, for the economy of Vancouver Island, its future, and the need for better and greater accessibility to the Lower Mainland, and for those folks to come here and discover what we all know is the best little city in North America,” added the Mayor.

But what really sunk Harbour Lynx was its operational decision to depend on just one vessel. Their entire enterprise and business model unravelled after the one and only vessel suffered a catastrophic mechanical failure in early 2006. The required major repairs could not be done quickly, nor did they have the financial capacity to perform the refit.

In contrast, Hullo Ferries’ operations revolve around using two vessels to not only achieve frequent scheduled service throughout the day to provide passengers with ample options, but also for reliability and redundancy.

“Because we have two ships, we can ensure that even if there is one issue with one vessel, we can continue to operate. People really need reliability… We’re very confident in the service that we’ve set up, and that it’s going to be a big success,” continued Caddick.

Hullo Ferries vessels at the Nanaimo Port Authority terminal. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Hullo Ferries’ Spuhels vessel at the Nanaimo Port Authority terminal. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Hullo Ferries’ vessels are brand-new, purpose-built, high-speed catamarans that each fit 354 seated passengers over two levels.

With each vessel equipped with four main engines that use Rolls-Royce jet drives, the vessels have a maximum design speed of 40 knots (74 km/hr). When traveling in the Strait of Georgia’s open waters, the vessels are expected to reach an “efficient” sailing speed of about 38 knots (70 km/hr) to meet their travel time.

The end-to-end travel time will be 70 minutes, with the Helijet facility at the Nanaimo Port Authority terminal at 100 Port Drive serving as Hullo’s Vancouver Island terminal, and Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre (the floatplane terminal located north of the Olympic Cauldron at the Vancouver Convention Centre) serving as the downtown Vancouver terminal. Passengers can access the indoor facilities of both terminals, including the indoor seating areas and washrooms.

Outside the Nanaimo Port Authority terminal building. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Inside the Nanaimo Port Authority terminal building. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre in downtown Vancouver. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

When it comes to overall speed and pricing considerations, the existence of Hullo Ferries essentially introduces a “middle option” in the spectrum of options between Vancouver Island and Metro Vancouver, with BC Ferries being the slow, cheapest option and Harbour Air and Helijet being the fast, expensive options. There are also travel time savings on the road from eliminating the drive or bus trip to/from BC Ferries’ Horseshoe Bay or Tsawwassen terminals.

“We’re connecting downtown to downtown as opposed to ending up in Tsawwassen or Horseshoe Bay. That downtown to downtown is a very big piece of it,” said Caddick.

Regular economy fares called Comfort are set at $39.99 each way for adults and $19.99 each way for children and seniors. Hullo Ferries will provide a first-sailing online discount of $10 on the regular adult fare; a one-time $10 discount is applied when a customer creates an online account.

For passengers looking for added perks and more comfortable and spacious seating, there are also Premium and Business classes at higher fare rates.

Bikes will be permitted onboard, but they must be reserved online for an added fee, and there are limited spots available for such devices on each sailing. These devices will be stored in a designated area outside the vessel. However, e-bikes or e-scooters are not permitted due to the federal government’s safety regulations on lithium batteries.

Six washroom units are found in each vessel, and food and beverage will be available onboard for purchase. All passengers will have free WiFi access.

Business class seats on Hullo Ferries. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Premium class seats on Hullo Ferries. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Stairs between the two levels of a Hullo Ferries vessel. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

On the second level of this Hullo Ferries ship where the seats for Premium and Business classes are located. 3/5https://t.co/Tn7TD1hMP4 pic.twitter.com/fUIIcjzw5M

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) July 21, 2023

The suggested time for arriving at the terminal is no more than 30 minutes before departure, and passengers must arrive at the gate at least five minutes before departure. Bookings for each sailing can be made up until 15 minutes before departure.

Upon launch on August 14, Hullo Ferries will run four roundtrips daily, with the first sailings departing Nanaimo at 6 am and Vancouver at 8 am. The last sailings in the late evening are timed with scheduled major events in Vancouver, providing Vancouver Island residents with a more convenient option to attend concerts and sports games, for instance.

Soon after launch, the scheduled frequencies will increase to seven roundtrips daily.

“Like any new business, we want to have a soft opening so that our crews can get ready for the volume. As we’re training and getting ready, we’ll grow the number of sailings. And if the demand is there, we’ll grow the size of the business,” said Caddick.

While the downtown Vancouver terminal is within close proximity to major public transit services, the accessibility of the downtown Nanaimo terminal will be supported by 350 pay parking stalls. For all intents and purposes, Hullo Ferries’ Vancouver Island terminal is considered to be in downtown Nanaimo, but it is currently about a 15-minute walk through an industrial area between the terminal building entrance and downtown Nanaimo’s Harbourfront.

Caddick says the accessibility and connectivity of their terminal location at the Nanaimo Port Authority will improve over time. They are in discussions with BC Transit, shuttle bus operators, and rideshare companies.

“All of those items are going to be enhanced over time. It’s not all going to be ready for the first sailing. We are going to build that as the demand grows, but we know connectivity is very important,” added Caddick.

“We know there’s a lot of friends and family to easily have pick-up and drop-off passengers.”

Pay parking stations for the Hullo Ferries parking lot at the Nanaimo Port Authority terminal. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

An onboard washroom on a Hullo Ferries vessel. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

Bridge of a Hullo Ferries vessel. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

On the bridge of Hullo Ferries’ Spuhels. 4/5https://t.co/Tn7TD1hMP4 pic.twitter.com/8xL2PjJhHM

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) July 21, 2023

And if the service does actually turn out to be a success story, Caddick says maybe, just maybe, they will look into operating more routes, such as between downtown Vancouver and downtown Victoria.

“Nanaimo was the obvious first route for us because there’s so much community support in Nanaimo and it’s the shortest distance. We believe there will be a market in other communities like Victoria,” he said.

“Once we get this up and running, and prove that it is a success, and get our operations going, then we will absolutely look at other communities like Victoria.”

In early 2020, just prior to the pandemic, after about three years of operations, V2V Vacations folded its business of running a high-speed, catamaran service between downtown Vancouver and downtown Victoria. But very much unlike Hullo Ferries, V2V Vacations’ business model was solely a luxury tourist and sightseeing service, with steep fares ranging between $120 and $240 when it first launched, and just one scheduled sailing per day.

You might also like: