BC Ferries plans for the Nanaimo Terminal include the installation of a charging station and supporting infrastructure for the battery-equipped Island Class vessels arriving in 2026. The station is shown where lanes 12 and 13 are in the Nanaimo terminal. BC Ferries graphic.
Derek Kilbourn
Sounder News
This past Friday, BC Ferries issued a service notice saying they will begin work on terminal improvements on the Gabriola route.
Work is scheduled to begin on the Nanaimo terminal on October 27. Earlier this year BC Ferries stated the work on the Gabriola side will begin in January.
The Oct. 10 Service Notice reads, “as part of our commitment to maintaining safe and reliable terminal facilities, we will begin necessary work to extend the life of the Nanaimo Harbour terminal berth on October 27, 2025. The project is expected to be completed by the end of January 2026.”
BC Ferries says terminal electrification work for the arrival of the battery-equipped Island Class vessels in 2026 is scheduled to begin in January and be completed by the end of May.
Electrification work on the terminals will be completed between sailings from 7am to 3pm, or overnight between 5pm and 5am, Monday through Friday. Overnight work is required for some aspects of the project to minimize disruption to terminal operations and avoid impacts to scheduled crossing times.
BC Ferries says, “all efforts will be made to minimize construction noise, and we will keep neighbours informed of the exact timing and anticipated impacts of any night work in advance.
“Thank you to our customers and neighbours for your patience as we complete this required work.”
In June of 2025, BC Ferries conducted an engagement process with Gabriolans, as well as neighbours of the Nanaimo Terminal.
The engagement process asked about sailing cancellations in two ways. The first was to ask, “Which sailing cancellations would cause the least impact?” The top two responses were to either cancel two morning and one evening sailings; or cancel one morning and two evening sailings.
The other question asked about sailings was, “Which two days of the week should we maintain the full schedule, with no potential cancellations?” The majority of in-person and online responses identified the following days: Mondays, Thursdays, and Fridays, with Thursdays in third place. Saturday had the fewest votes, followed by Wednesdays.
BC Ferries staff provided comment on October 14 (after the printed edition of this article had been published), stating, “At this time, no sailing cancellations are expected in this phase of the project. As the service notice states, work is planned to happen between sailings. Should a sailing cancellation be required, we will notify our customers in advance. This is critical infrastructure work that will help ensure reliable service and support the long-term continuity of ferry operations. We appreciate the patience of our customers and neighbours as we complete this required work.”
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