Hullo ferries showed off their two vessels to members of the media one month before they’re scheduled to carry passengers to downtown Vancouver.
The two vessels, named Spuhé and Stuqui’, boast state-of-the-art navigation technology and will have a well-trained crew to welcome 354 passengers during their maiden voyage on Aug. 14.
CEO Alaister Caddick says Hullo put the customers first during the design of the vessels and tried to account for every contingency they could think of.
“The ships are in and they are beautifully designed,” Caddick says. “We think guests will really love their experience.”
Caddick says even though the vessels are ready and capable to launch there is still more training needed for their staff to ensure the company meets all Canadian safety requirements.
“We have recruited a really great team of both mariners on board and terminal staff,” he says. “We want to give all staff sufficient time to train, get to know the vessels and to learn the route.”
The vessels boast a navigation system which according to staff is the best system they have worked on, but Caddick says the real heart of the vessels is the four-waterjet prop engine system.
Caddick says they installed four engines to make the vessels reliable but also to ensure they were able to meet deadlines for their passengers travelling to and from Vancouver.
“Four engines give us reliability, anyone who owns a single engine boat knows they can breakdown,” Caddick says. “With these engines we have fantastic redundancy.
“If there is an issue with one engine, we can still get into port safely.”
Hullo is scheduled to launch on Aug. 14 and Caddick says they will be launching ticket sales next week with some additional information on their first sailing being posted on their website.
