New Vancouver-Nanaimo ferry service announces pricing, launch timing
The new passenger-only ferry service between Vancouver and Nanaimo, Hullo, has announced that it will begin operations this summer.
While an exact date wasn't announced Thursday, the company said it plans to begin operating in early August.
Sailings will be 70 minutes each way, and Hullo plans to launch with up to seven roundtrip sailings per day, the company said.
The first sailing will depart from Nanaimo at 6 a.m., and the last sailing will depart from Vancouver at 9:30 p.m., though Hullo says later sailings may be available for special events.
Hullo will launch with two ferries in its fleet that can carry 354 passengers each.
Passengers can purchase tickets for the ferries' three different tiers of seating: comfort, premium and business.
For adults, comfort-tier tickets will cost $39.99, premium tickets cost $49.99, and business tickets cost $59.99.
Separate prices are available for children and seniors. A full price breakdown can be viewed below:
June 8, 2023. (Hullo)Onboard Wi-Fi will be available for all passengers, and snacks can be purchased on each sailing.
Pets are allowed on the ferries, but they must remain in carriers on the laps of passengers. Bikes can also be brought onboard, but Hullo warns that only a limited number of bike parking spaces will be available, and they must be reserved for a fee.
Ferries will depart from downtown Nanaimo at the Nanaimo Port Authority, located at 100 Port Dr., while sailings from Vancouver will depart from the Vancouver Harbour Flight Centre at Burrard Landing, located at 1055 Canada Pl.
Hullo's two ferries were given the hul’q’umi’num’ names, spuhéls and sthuqi’.
Spuhéls (spah–els) means wind, and sthuqi’ (sta–key) means sockeye salmon, according to the Snuneymuxw First Nation.
"We honour these vessels by bringing forward our connection with the sockeye salmon and the wind," said Snuneymuxw First Nation Chief Mike Wyse in a release Thursday.
"We remember our kinship with them and how we respect our sacred relationship," he said. "The vessels’ names are an example of how we can also honour our way of being together as partners."
The announcement comes about a week after BC Ferries said it would be altering service between Metro Vancouver and Nanaimo.
BC Ferries is relocating one of its ferries from the Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay route to the Tsawwassen-Duke Point route to relieve some of the traffic congestion at the Horseshoe Bay terminal.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
More than 115 cases of eye damage reported in Ontario after solar eclipse
More than 115 people who viewed the solar eclipse in Ontario earlier this month experienced eye damage after the event, according to eye doctors in the province.
Toxic testing standoff: Family leaves house over air quality
A Sherwood Park family says their new house is uninhabitable. The McNaughton's say they were forced to leave the house after living there for only a week because contaminants inside made it difficult to breathe.
Decoy bear used to catch man who illegally killed a grizzly, B.C. conservation officers say
A man has been handed a lengthy hunting ban and fined thousands of dollars for illegally killing a grizzly bear, B.C. conservation officers say.
B.C. seeks ban on public drug use, dialing back decriminalization
The B.C. NDP has asked the federal government to recriminalize public drug use, marking a major shift in the province's approach to addressing the deadly overdose crisis.
OPP responds to apparent video of officer supporting anti-Trudeau government protestors
The Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) says it's investigating an interaction between a uniformed officer and anti-Trudeau government protestors after a video circulated on social media.
An emergency slide falls off a Delta Air Lines plane, forcing pilots to return to JFK in New York
An emergency slide fell off a Delta Air Lines jetliner shortly after takeoff Friday from New York, and pilots who felt a vibration in the plane circled back to land safely at JFK Airport.
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau on navigating post-political life, co-parenting and freedom
Sophie Gregoire Trudeau says there is 'still so much love' between her and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, as they navigate their post-separation relationship co-parenting their three children.
Last letters of pioneering climber who died on Everest reveal dark side of mountaineering
George Mallory is renowned for being one of the first British mountaineers to attempt to scale the dizzying heights of Mount Everest during the 1920s. Nearly a century later, newly digitized letters shed light on Mallory’s hopes and fears about ascending Everest.
Loud boom in Hamilton caused by propane tank, police say
A loud explosion was heard across Hamilton on Friday after a propane tank was accidentally destroyed and detonated at a local scrap metal yard, police say.