B.C. Ferries is looking for someone to dismantle four 60-year-old vessels for the company.
Queen of Burnaby, Mayne Queen, Bowen Queen and Powell River Queen are listed in the corporation’s request for proposals. B.C. Ferries will pay the successful proponent or proponents to complete the work.
Bids can be made on one or all the ferries, which were all built in 1965. The offer closes June 23.
Late last year, B.C. Ferries issued a request for expressions of interest that included the option of a buyer continuing to operate the three smaller ferries — Mayne Queen, Bowen Queen and Powell River Queen, which are 288 feet long and retired in 2022 and 2023.
Potential purchasers will be required to submit information about their history, experience, equipment and knowledge.
Buyers who want to recycle a ferry are being asked to provide detailed plans about how the vessel would be taken apart and how work would meet environmental requirements.
The 426-foot-long Queen of Burnaby had been taken to Deep Water Recovery in Union Bay in 2021 but then B.C. Ferries took it back to its Richmond facility in May 2022.
A B.C. Ferries official said then that the ferry had been temporarily moored in Union Bay but was relocated to Richmond to evaluate options for recycling the ship while meeting safety and environmental requirements.
Queen of Burnaby had carried passengers and vehicles between Comox and Powell River. Retired in 2017, it was sold for about $650,000 the following year. But the deal collapsed and B.C. Ferries has had the vessel since then.
When it was sold, B.C. Ferries noted the vessel was not fit for sailing. It was leaking hydraulic oil and contained hazardous materials such as asbestos.
While the ship was in Union Bay, residents raised concerns about the impact on the marine ecosystem of deconstructing the ferry in that location.
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