Clipper to Launch Vancouver to Victoria Ferry Service in Spring 2018

Seattle, WA – March 1, 2017 – Tobias Haack, CEO of Clipper, announced today that the company will launch its new passenger ferry service between downtown Vancouver and downtown Victoria in spring 2018.

Clipper will receive a 52-meter (170 feet) high-speed catamaran called Halunder Jet from its parent company, FRS, in fall 2017.

The vessel, which currently operates in the North Sea, carries 579 passengers and can travel at speeds up to 36 knots. Halunder Jet was custom built for FRS’ operations between Hamburg and Heligoland where it has operated very successfully since 2003 moving 372,000 passengers annually. The vessel has operated in difficult sea conditions similar to the Salish Sea and uses a motion dampening system to help consistently deliver a comfortable ride for customers. Halunder Jet will be retrofitted to Clipper’s specifications and reflagged for its new operation ahead of the spring 2018 launch.

“Clipper has been committed to ensuring that we have the right vessel for this route,” says Haack. “For more than 30 years we have safely and reliably operated ferry services around the Salish Sea, and we know that customer comfort is again paramount for our new Vancouver to Victoria route. Halunder Jet is the perfect addition to the Clipper fleet and aligns with our high standards for customer service. We could not be more excited to launch this new operation with our longstanding tourism partners in Victoria, Vancouver and across the Pacific Northwest.”

Additional details around Clipper’s Vancouver to Victoria operation will be announced as development continues this year.

David Gudgel, Clipper’s Chief Operations Officer, is available for phone interviews in Seattle. To arrange an interview, please contact:

Media Contact
David Gudgel
Chief Operations Officer
T 206-443-2560
dgudgel@victoriaclipper.com

About Clipper

Clipper, operator of Clipper Vacations, is well known as the travel experts for the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada. Since 1986, Clipper has provided transportation, tours and accommodation packages for over 8 million customers. Clipper offers opportunities to experience picturesque and popular destinations such as: cosmopolitan Seattle or Vancouver, historic Victoria, the peaceful San Juan Islands, vibrant Portland and the beauty of Vancouver Island.

About FRS

Förde Reederei Seetouristik (FRS) looks back on more than 150 years of successful history. From a regional passenger ship shipping company, FRS has developed over the past decades into an internationally active group of companies with 62 ships and over 1,500 employees. FRS carries around 7.6 million passengers and 2.1 million vehicles per year on its national and international shipping lines. Today, the north German based FRS Group has in its portfolio 24 subsidiaries located in Europe, North Africa, the Middle East and North America. In addition to numerous international ferry and catamaran lines, FRS is also involved in wind-offshore transport with crew transfer boats and maritime consultancy.

Clipper Fast Facts

Local travel and transportation business since 1986
More than 150 employees based in Seattle, Wash. and Victoria, B.C.
Operators of three high speed Victoria Clipper vessels between Seattle, Victoria, and Friday Harbor
More than 80 hotel and tour regional partner relationships in place to provide full service, custom vacation packages
Packages include a range of diverse offerings such as wine country tours and whale watching