Larry Dickens - Novelist & Mariner
Why Didn't the Fast Ferry Run During the Summer
(2006)?
by Larry Dickens,
former chief officer, Spirit of Ontario 1
In recent weeks, many people have asked the question: why didn't the city operate the fast ferry throughout this past summer in order to offset her mounting lay-by costs until a sale was complete? As the Spirit of Ontario 1's former chief officer during both 2004 and 2005 seasons, I would say the decision to not run the ship was a wise one as it most likely would not have been profitable.
In early May, Mayor Duffy announced that the ferry had sold. Naturally, everyone expected the ferry would be departing within a very short time afterward. In fact, everyone was so sure that it was leaving that a delivery crew had been assembled in mid-April - even before his announcement - in preparation of a vessel movement. No one, including Mayor Duffy, knew that the ferry would be sitting here this long (except, perhaps, the owners of Euroferries), or knew that there would be so much difficulty in closing a deal.
To run the fast ferry, even for a brief period while the prospective buyer got his act together, would have been incredibly costly to the city. What follows is a sampling of what would be needed to restart the ferry:
Preparation costs
- The ship has to go to a shipyard and be drydocked for its required annual hull
inspection, as per international law. Also, cracks that developed in both
hulls in 2005 are required to be repaired before the Spirit can carry
passengers again.
- The evacuation system (which includes nine life rafts and four slides) needs
to be removed and inspected, as per international law.
- Various certificates and endorsements need to be renewed.
- The city failed to bring the ship under the U.S. registry last year and,
therefore, would still need to hire lake pilots for every trip. Last year this expense was
$156,000+ per month when the ship operated on a two-trip per day schedule.
- Retraining and type-rating would be needed for many of the crew and officers,
as per international law.
Advertising
- What would be different from last year? The ferry would still need to be
marketed. Hanging a shingle and merely saying "We're open for business" is not
enough. It wasn't enough during the previous two seasons. An infusion of
promotion dollars would be needed to let the region know that the ferry was back
in service and its schedule.
Fuel
Costs
- Fuel is still expensive. The ship still burns 6,600 gallons of diesel oil
during one roundtrip. One day in 2005, the city ran the ship roundtrip carrying
a total of only 73 passengers at a cost of $16,000 in fuel. No trip
cancellation passenger thresholds had been established, even when requested by
the terminal managers. The establishment of such thresholds would help minimize
this type of financial drain.
Crew
- There would be difficulty finding a full crew for a brief operating period.
Most of the former licensed officers and crew have moved on to more secure jobs
elsewhere in the country.
Given
all of the expenses associated with restarting her and the absolute necessity to
carry large numbers of passengers that only an aggressive advertising campaign
could produce, it is doubtful the ferry would have been profitable for a brief
summer season, even if we had known that the ship was going to be sitting here
this long.
Larry Dickens, Canandaigua, NY
October 30th, 2006
Dickens is also the author of Gone with the Breeze, a book that chronicles the two years of the fast ferry from the crew side (available at area book sellers and online at www.LarryDickens.com).