British Columbia ferry service provider BC Ferries said in mid-December that it has submitted a plan to build five New Major Vessels, or NMVs, which, if approved by BC Ferries’ commissioner, would be the biggest capital investment in the organization’s history.
The newbuilds would bolster the region’s ferry capacity and reliability, according to BC Ferries. The vessels would replace four older ferries and add one new ferry, allowing the company to add capacity on its highest-demand routes between Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island, according to the organization.
The new vessels would lower wait times and increase capacity overall by as much as 28% for passengers and 19% for vehicles, according to BC Ferries, which handled its busiest peak season on record in 2024.
The additional capacity of the NMVs would affect not only BC residents who rely on the ferry system for their daily commutes and essential travel, but is projected to also enable nearly 130,000 incremental tourists to travel through the region.
“BC Ferries is a marine highway, and we have a responsibility to provide reliable service to keep people and goods moving in British Columbia,” BC Ferries CEO Nicolas Jimenez said.
“We’ve heard from our customers that our busiest routes are too often fully booked during peak travel times, leaving many without access to the sailings they need,” he added. “Without the addition of these vessels on our major routes, we’ll be unable to keep pace with the rising population.”
If approved, the first ferry could come online in 2029, with all five in service by 2031, BC Ferries said.
The New Major Vessels (NMV) project is a complex, multi-year, capital program that proposes to deliver up to seven new vessels by the mid-2030s to service BC Ferries’ busiest routes, addressing the urgent need to replace aging vessels and address capacity constraints, prepare for future growth, and improve overall system resilience.
