In early February 2006, one of the engines failed on the only ferry HarbourLynx owned. The 296-passenger catamaran had been carrying walk-on passengers between downtown Nanaimo and a dock near Canada Place since 2003, and with it out of the water the company had nothing left to sail. Within weeks HarbourLynx, deep in debt, filed notice in court that it was insolvent, according to a 2023 retrospective in Business in Vancouver. By 2013 the Nanaimo foot passenger ferry had been gone for seven years, and it would stay gone for ten more.
Four ventures before Hullo
Downtown-to-downtown service across the Strait of Georgia has a long record of failure. A 2021 Times Colonist report traces it to 1969, when Pacific Hovercraft launched a walk-on run with a 35-passenger craft; the 40-minute trip cost $7 and the venture failed financially. The Wikipedia entry on HarbourLynx, citing the Prince George Citizen, adds a second hovercraft attempt in the mid-1980s, which the Times Colonist leaves out. That is why accounts disagree on the count: the Times Colonist says three services started and collapsed, while Business in Vancouver and Wikipedia count four.
The third was Royal Sealink Express, run by Norway's Kvaerner Fjellstrand, which also sailed between Vancouver and Victoria. It folded in 1993 after 11 months in business according to Business in Vancouver, or 10 months according to the Times Colonist. Ian Marr, chief executive of the Nanaimo Port Authority, told Business in Vancouver in 2023 that the losses were mostly on the Victoria run. "Their Nanaimo route was actually very successful," he said.
HarbourLynx followed with the same model of Fjellstrand catamaran. Wikipedia records that its vessel, built in 1996 and laid up in the Philippines for two years, was refitted in Victoria before entering service. After the engine failure, plans to revive the line never came to anything, and on January 1, 2008, the catamaran left Nanaimo harbour for Ireland to work the crossing between Galway and the Aran Islands. A company called Island Ferries Ltd. then spent several years trying to start a replacement, the Times Colonist noted, without success.
The 2021 plan and the agreements behind it
The venture that finally sailed was announced in September 2021 by Conqora Capital Partners, a Toronto private equity firm. Its founder, Rupesh Amin, told the Times Colonist he had studied why earlier services failed: thin capital, a single used vessel that might not suit local waters, and no long-term arrangements to operate. "I imagine a lot of people are thinking: 'I've heard this before,'" he said.
Two agreements came first. One, with the Snuneymuxw First Nation, was a Recognition, Cooperation and Benefits Agreement authorizing the ferry to operate in Snuneymuxw territory; Chief Mike Wise said the 1854 Snuneymuxw Treaty protects the nation's lands and waters and enables trade and commerce in its territory. The other was a lease with the Nanaimo Port Authority for its assembly wharf and shore facilities. Here the sources differ again: Marr told the Times Colonist in 2021 that the lease ran 20 years with extensions, while Hullo chief executive Alastair Caddick told Business in Vancouver in 2023 that the company had a 35-year lease on a 400-stall parking lot on port land. The landlord in both versions is a federal body: under the Canada Marine Act, the Nanaimo Port Authority controls the harbour, waters and foreshore next to the city.
Mayor Leonard Krog, a long-time supporter, said the city's strategic plan and economic development strategy both highlighted the project. In 2023 he pointed Business in Vancouver to the Vancouver Island Conference Centre, opened in 2008, as an example of how much the city had grown since HarbourLynx.
Hullo's first three years
The launch did not go to plan. Hullo, officially the Vancouver Island Ferry Company, meant to start four departures a day from each city on August 14, 2023. A falling tree cut power to parts of downtown Nanaimo, including the ferries, on August 13, and Environment Canada issued a wind warning the next day, so Caddick cancelled all sailings on August 14 and 15. Service began with a single sailing on August 16, which Wikipedia says was limited to 189 passengers.
Caddick's main argument for why this time would be different was redundancy. "Each of our vessels has four engines," he said, so a failure in one would not stop a boat. Hullo runs two catamarans built by the Damen Group in Vietnam, named spuhéls and sthuqi', meaning wind and sockeye salmon in Hul'q'umi'num'. Wikipedia gives their capacity as 354 seated passengers each; Daily Hive puts it at 350 seats.
By its first anniversary in August 2024, Hullo had carried 400,000 passengers. The company reported a 40 per cent rise in ridership in its second year and said it had operated more than 95 per cent of scheduled sailings since launch. By August 2026 the total passed 1.5 million passengers across nearly 10,000 sailings, according to Daily Hive. In June 2026 Hullo standardized its timetable, raised fares for the first time and introduced an economy class with a limited number of $19.99 one-way tickets on selected weekday departures. It still plans a second route between downtown Vancouver and Greater Victoria, which would need more ships.
The Nanaimo terminal sits on Port Authority land just south of downtown, about a 15-minute walk from the city centre, with a free shuttle bus and limited BC Transit service. If you are walking on with a bike, check first: e-bikes are not allowed because of battery fire rules.
What the larger ferries cost and serve
For anyone not using Hullo, the walk-on alternative is BC Ferries from Departure Bay or Duke Point. Since 2003 the operator has been British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., a company whose single voting share is held by the BC Ferry Authority. It runs 25 regulated routes under a 60-year contract with the province, and an independent commissioner caps how fast fares can rise on average.
That cap is 3.2 per cent a year for the four years to March 2028, set in 2023 after the province put in $500 million. BC Ferries spreads it unevenly. From April 8, 2026, an adult foot passenger on the major Vancouver Island routes pays $21, up $1, and a standard vehicle with one adult pays $110 whether it drives up or prepays. Castanet reported that on the Vancouver to Victoria route the standard vehicle fare rose 18.6 per cent that spring, while the Sunshine Coast route rose four to five per cent. Drivers also pay in time: when CBC News analysed more than 31,000 sailings from 2016, the longest vehicle lines were in Nanaimo.
The ships have changed what they serve, too. BC Ferries told CTV in 2023 that it first offered formal sit-down, white-tablecloth dining in the 1960s. By 1976 the dining rooms were losing $7 million a year and serving only 10 per cent of passengers, so table service ended in favour of larger cafeterias, and a cold buffet appeared that became a full hot buffet in 1979. The Pacific Buffet closed for the pandemic in March 2020, and in June 2023 the company said it would not reopen. Macarons and almond Florentines, it said, had been among the most popular items.
Departure Bay, the terminal and the neighbourhood
Departure Bay terminal is at 680 Trans-Canada Highway and handled 1,551,280 passengers in 2024; unlike Duke Point, it has city bus links. Long before the ferries, the shore was the site of Stiil'nep, which for thousands of years was one of the main Snuneymuxw villages. Snuneymuxw Knowledge Keeper Dave Spirit Wolf Bodaly told The Discourse in 2021 that the name translates as "water runs deep", after the deep water in the bay, and that the longhouses stood in three rows around what is now Kin Hut Park.
Travellers coming off the ferry meet commerce within a kilometre. Brooks Landing, the shopping centre on the main access road, was built as an interior mall; its owner, Terracap, says it bought the property in 2004 when vacancies were persistent and turned it into an outdoor, grocery-anchored plaza that has stayed close to full occupancy since. The terminal itself works on thin margins, with the Departure Bay ferry schedule to Horseshoe Bay resting on two ships and one timetable.
The small ferries in the harbour
The shortest foot ferry in Nanaimo goes to Protection Island. Operated by the Dinghy Dock Pub, it leaves the waiting room at the corner of Front Street and Promenade Drive at ten minutes past each hour and returns from the island on the hour, 365 days a year, weather permitting. It is cash only: $8 one way or $15 return for an adult, $2 for a dog, $3 for a bicycle, with no e-bikes and no reservations. The ferry runs even when the pub is closed, and it does not stop at Saysutshun.
The Gabriola ferry, BC Ferries' Route 19 from Nanaimo Harbour, shows how a small route absorbs provincial cuts. In November 2013 the government ordered $18.9 million in savings by 2016, most of it from minor and northern routes, and Business in Vancouver listed Gabriola among the routes hardest hit, with cuts of up to 35 per cent of sailings. Figures differ by measure: the Gabriola Ferry Advisory Committee later put the loss at 14 per cent of its service, or 16 round trips a week. Under the first proposal, the Times Colonist reported, the last sailing from Nanaimo would move from 11:30 p.m. to 9:25 p.m. Bruce Halliday, general manager of the Port Theatre, had started shows at 7:30 p.m. for 15 years so Gabriola audiences could catch the late boat.
After community meetings, BC Ferries, the committee and other islanders worked out an alternative that took sailings out during the day to protect the late evenings. It took effect in April 2014, and the committee chair, John Hodgkins, wrote in 2016 that summer 2014 was "a disaster", with late ferries and overloads up by almost 50 per cent. By the committee's count, the cuts caused a slump of about 4 per cent in traffic that was only recovering by early 2016.
On the island, the ferry connects with GERTIE, Gabriola's community bus. The Regional District of Nanaimo board voted unanimously on May 26, 2026, to renew its service agreement to April 30, 2031, with $212,242 for 2026 and $216,487 for 2027. A new timetable from June 8 added an afternoon run and kept the bus waiting for the 5:20 p.m. departure from Nanaimo, the last ferry of the day that connects with it.
A loop for drivers
BC Ferries has also marketed its routes as a circle. A 2012 travel guide on BritishColumbia.com describes the loop: Horseshoe Bay to Langdale, Earls Cove to Saltery Bay, Powell River to Comox, and back to the mainland from Nanaimo or Swartz Bay, in either direction. Not everyone on the route welcomed the visitors. In 2022 a Sunshine Coast resident wrote to the Coast Reporter asking BC Ferries to shelve its Circle Trip campaign until residents could get reliable service.
The Nanaimo foot passenger ferry to Vancouver now depends on two catamarans and a company that has said its Victoria route will need more ships before it starts.
Questions
Is there a foot passenger ferry from Nanaimo to downtown Vancouver?
Yes. Hullo, operated by the Vancouver Island Ferry Company, has sailed between the Port of Nanaimo facility and the Coal Harbour waterfront in downtown Vancouver since August 16, 2023. The crossing takes roughly 75 minutes.
How often does the Hullo ferry sail?
In the 2026 peak season it ran three round trips a day from Monday to Wednesday and five or six on Thursdays, Fridays and weekends. Winter schedules have been thinner, generally three or four round trips a day.
Can you bring an e-bike on the Hullo ferry?
No. Hullo does not accept electric bicycles because of battery fire rules, although it secured an exemption that allows electric wheelchairs on board.
What happened to HarbourLynx?
Its only vessel suffered major engine trouble and was pulled from service in February 2006. The company was deeply in debt, filed notice of insolvency within weeks and never sailed again; the catamaran left Nanaimo for Ireland on January 1, 2008.
How much is the BC Ferries foot passenger fare from Nanaimo to Vancouver?
From April 8, 2026, an adult foot passenger pays $21 on the major routes between Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island and a child $10.50. Saver fares for foot passengers on quieter sailings stayed at $15 for adults.
How do you get to Protection Island from Nanaimo?
A small private foot ferry leaves from the waiting room at the corner of Front Street and Promenade Drive at ten minutes past each hour and returns from the island on the hour. It is cash only, and an adult round trip costs $15.
Does the Protection Island ferry go to Saysutshun (Newcastle Island)?
No. The Protection Island ferry only serves Protection Island and its pub dock. Its operator directs visitors bound for Saysutshun to newcastleisland.ca for crossing information.
Is there a bus on Gabriola Island that meets the ferry?
Yes. GERTIE, the community bus, runs a timetable tied to the BC Ferries sailings and waits for the 5:20 p.m. departure from Nanaimo, the last ferry of the day that connects with the bus. Current times are posted at gertie.ca.
Is BC Ferries a government company?
Not in the usual sense. In 2003 BC Ferries stopped being a Crown corporation; since then British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. has had its single voting share held by the BC Ferry Authority, with fares capped by an independent commissioner and routes set by a 60-year contract with the province.
Can you still get a buffet on BC Ferries?
No. The Pacific Buffet on the Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay route closed in March 2020 for the pandemic and BC Ferries announced in June 2023 that it would not reopen. The company said the buffet had been losing about $1.2 million a year.
What is the Sunshine Coast circle tour?
It is a loop that uses four ferry crossings: Horseshoe Bay to Langdale, Earls Cove to Saltery Bay, Powell River to Comox, and one of the Vancouver Island to mainland routes such as Nanaimo to Horseshoe Bay. It can be driven in either direction.
Sources
- Hullo aims to succeed where other ferry operators have failed, Business in Vancouver, 2023-08-22
- High-speed foot-passenger ferry planned between Nanaimo and Vancouver, Times Colonist, 2021-09-16
- HarbourLynx, Wikipedia
- Hullo (ferry), Wikipedia
- Hullo Ferries marks second anniversary with 40% ridership growth, high reliability, Daily Hive, 2025-08-15
- Hullo Ferries surpasses 1.5 million passengers on third anniversary, Daily Hive, 2026-08-19
- About us, BC Ferry Authority
- BC Ferries expands off-peak savings and applies routine tariff update to support affordability and long-term reliability, BC Ferries, 2025-11-28
- Sunshine Coast passenger and vehicle ferry fares rising 5%, April 8, Castanet (Lodestar Media), 2026-04-05
- End of an era: BC Ferries closes Pacific Buffet, CTV News, 2023-06-06
- B.C. government announces cuts to minor ferry routes, no more free rides for seniors and maybe gambling, Business in Vancouver, 2013-11-18
- B.C. Ferries sailing cutbacks disrupts lives of those living on smaller islands, Times Colonist, 2013-11-21
- What's happened to our ferry service since 2013?, Gabriola Ferry Advisory Committee, 2016-06-06
- RDN renews GERTIE funding for 5-year term, new service agreement will end in 2031, Gabriola Sounder, 2026-06-03
- Updated schedule with 1 hour of new service, GERTIE, Gabriola's Community Bus Service
- Protection Island Ferry Schedule, Dinghy Dock Pub
- Ferry & Docking Information, Dinghy Dock Pub
- Departure Bay ferry terminal, Wikipedia
- Understanding Stiil'nep, where the 'water runs deep', The Discourse, 2021-07-15
- Brooks Landing Centre, Terracap
- Sunshine Coast and Vancouver Island Circle Tour, BritishColumbia.com, 2012-12-30
- Letter: BC Ferries, cancel the Circle Trip campaign, Coast Reporter, 2022-05-09
