Following a contest in which BC Ferries received more than 7,100 entries, a panel of judges has selected Salish Orca, Salish Eagle and Salish Raven as the names for its new intermediate class ferries under construction. Salish Orca will enter service on the Comox – Powell River route late next year. Salish Eagle and Salish Raven will begin operations in the Southern Gulf Islands in 2017.
The Salish Orca is scheduled to arrive in British Columbia in the late summer of 2016 and is expected to be in service replacing the 50-year-old Queen of Burnaby on the Comox – Powell River route late 2016, following extensive crew training and familiarization.