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Eas
“tes

Weather

éé Why try to fix
something if it’s
not broken? Why
doesn’t the district
approach West
Vancouver? 99

— City Coun. Barbara
Sharp on amalgamation.
For story see page 5.

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NEWS phote Terry Peters

BC FERRIES' Queen of Coquitlam crashed into the Horseshoe Bay dock on Friday
morning after losing power. The ship’s bow was damaged, but no injuries were

reported. The Queen of Coquitlam was moved to Vancouver Shipyards for repairs.

WILL THE ambitious BC Ferries
fast-ferry scheme fall short, or will it
energize B.C. shipbuilders and pro-
vide long-term stability to a strug-
gling industry?

By lan Noble
News Reporter

The answer is still up in the air, but BC
Ferries’ plans tw kick-start a high-speed ferry
industry with the construction of three $70
million fast ferries continue to draw skeptics.

Critics are adamant that expensive export
plans won't pan out, citing suff competition
internationally and hivh labor costs locatly.

But a confident Tom Ward, BC Ferries
senior vice-president, said he eapeets the B.C.
shipbuilding industry to attract orders world-
wide for high-speed car and passenger ferries.

Meanwhile, hundreds of workers in North
Vancouver's beleaguered shipbuilding indus-
try wait hopefully for contracts to be handed
out and work to begin on the fast ferries

Marine engineer Robert Ward's criticis
of the fast ferries are well known: he says they
are underpowered, will create too much pollu-

@ B.C. jabor costs
and worldwide
competition stand
in way of fast ferry
export opportunity

tion, can only be profitable ifa huge premium
fare is paid and are a bad financial deal.

lle continues to stand by those complaints,
and said recent tank testing results that BC
Ferries says prove its fast-ferry design works
have not changed his niind.

Ward adds that the export plans won't
work cither, He said a dozen other countries
are years ahead in catamaran construction and
marketing and B.C. labor costs are too high.

There is no incentive to build in Canada,
he said. “PE believe this to be an ill-thought-out
program lacking in financial and technical
feasibility.”

A Vancouver-based shipbuilder also dis-
misses the export potential, bat won't speak
on the record because BC Ferries is the main

Monday: Periods of rain
High 12°C, low 8°C.

BC FERRIES’ Queen of Coquitlam
lost power and crashed Friday morn- |
ing at the Horseshoe Bay ferry termi-
nal.

By Bob Mackin
Contributing Writer

None of the approximately 400 passengers
were injured, according to BC Ferries officials.
There were also 250 vehicles on board the 6:2
a.m. sailing from Langdale.

The ship sustained darnage to the bow on
the starboard side of the vehicle deck. There
was 0 cost estimate available at press time.

The ferry schedule was thrown into chaos
until early affemoon as a result of the accident.
The Queen of Surrey to Nanaimo made a spe-
cial side trip to Langdale to drop off Sunshine
Coast cars and passengers. Oversize vehicles
bound for both. Nanaimo and Langdale were
left to wait for later sailings.

Assistant terminal manager Tom Warren
said private float planes and air taxis were
available to transport passengers not willing to
wait. ;

Built in 1976. at Burrard Dry Dock. the
Queen of Coquitlam was approaching berth
three for its 7 a.m. arrival from Langdale. It lost
power when the main airline to the inain
engines fractured, according to BC Ferries
spokesman Capt. Tom Whelan.

The 139-metre (456 ft.) tong, double-ended
ship drifted towards the dock and rammed the
“outer dolphin,” a circular division between the
berths. [t was motionless for about 20 minutes.

The ship was scheduled to sail under its
own power to Vancouver Shipyards on Friday
for repairs and should be back in. service
Monday.

supplier of shipbuilding and ship maintenance
contracts in B.C.

The shipbuilder said taat in) Australia.
which has a thriving: fast-ferry industry, labor
rates are S17 per hotr, considerably less than
B.Cvs, Australia also provides a subsidy,
Canada dees not. And two Australian manu-
facturers are thinking of setting up shop in
low-cost China, close to Asian markets.

He said Australian firms have a proven
track record and Canada cannot leap-frog
their technology,

“All you can do is go parallel with these
people. So how competitive are we in B.C.
going to be with that? Tothink (the export
plans) are very far-fetched,” he said,

But BC Ferries’ Tom Ward said he’s conti-
dent B.C. shipyards can compete worldwide
in fust ferries. He said salaries in Canada were
once considered high but are now in the tid-
dle of the pack and productivity in B.C. ship-
yards is good.

BC Ferries and the provincial government
say the fast ferries will revitalize B.C. ship-
building.

“This goal would be severely impitired if
the fastest growing ship market in the ferry

See Workd pase 3