Hullo ferries sets sail between Nanaimo, Vancouver after 2-day delay

After a two-day delay in launching British Columbia's newest ferry service, the inaugural sailing of the Hullo foot-passenger ferry left Nanaimo for Vancouver on Wednesday.

The maiden voyage left downtown Nanaimo at 10 a.m. for the 70-minute crossing to downtown Vancouver.

The successful start came after all scheduled sailings on Monday and Tuesday were unexpectedly scrapped.

The cancellations came as the company worked out the final kinks to ensure the "long-term safety and reliability for the service," Hullo said in a news release Monday evening.

Hullo CEO Alistair Caddick told CTV News the company would embark on a "deliberately conservative stance" in its reorganized launch.

"Quite frankly, we want to give our crews and our captains the time to practise and train in these kind of conditions before taking on passengers."

Hullo is cutting its sailings in half, not operating the originally planned first and last departures between the two cities. The service is now slated to leave Nanaimo daily at 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and depart Vancouver at noon and 6:30 p.m.

"We want to again thank our guests for their patience and understanding this week and we are thrilled to say Hullo as we launch our sailings today," Caddick said in a statement following the launch Wednesday.

"We are eager to be a long-term, reliable transportation solution for travel between the mainland and Vancouver Island."