Welcome Aboard!

FRS Clipper is well known as your travel experts for the Pacific Northwest and Western Canada. Since 1986, we have provided transportation, tours and accommodation packages for more than 8 million guests. At our core, we take pride connecting guests with unique and thoughtful travel experiences.

By boat, seaplane, charter motor coach, train, car or helicopter, our award-winning local staff of Pacific Northwest travel experts will customize your experience from beginning to end. We take pride in vetting each mode of transportation, hotel and activity personally, so we can provide you with inside knowledge and recommendations to create memorable trips and exciting experiences. Concierge service is our mainstay and the reason why we are regarded as the finest, most well-informed travel service in our region.

Jason Mihok - Clipper Staff Captain

History

Creating Amazing Memories for Our Guests Since 1986

In 1986, Washington entrepreneur Merideth Tall saw the potential for a catamaran service to operate year-round between Seattle and Victoria, BC. Ms. Tall formed a partnership, incorporated the company Clipper Vacations and contracted with the firm Fjellstrand AS of Omastrand, Norway to construct the Victoria Clipper.

This state-of-the-art vessel started service on July 1, 1986, (with the Clipper IV joining the fleet in 1993) transporting passengers between Pier 69 in downtown Seattle to the heart of downtown Victoria in a little less than three hours. The San Juan Clipper, with its three observation decks, joined the fleet in 1991, making summer whale watching trips to the San Juan Islands. The Victoria Clipper V, a newer, larger and more spacious vessel than the I and IV, became the sole operating vessel on the Seattle-Victoria run in 2018, allowing Clipper to transport more passengers at one time.

These sleek, striking, high-speed catamarans have become our signature, providing fast, convenient, reliable travel. In 2016, Clipper was acquired by worldwide ferry operator, FRS, and the company re-branded to FRS Clipper in 2020.

FRS Guiding Principles

The Company

Combining tradition and modernity. Delighting customers.

“We believe that distances over water should not be a reason not to get together and discover new things.“ – Götz Becker (CEO)

We are more than a shipping company.

We enable people to meet each other, travel, share their experiences and discover new horizons every day and around the world. We make customers feel at home whilst traveling. As a traditional and owner-led company, we operate globally but always with firm regional ties. We cooperate and maintain steady partnerships with institutions, authorities and our business associates. We run our company in an economically sustainable manner. Through our economic success and long-term strategies, we ensure the independence of our company today and in the future.

Corporate Social Responsibility

Transparent. Responsible. Resource-conserving.

CSR is anchored in our corporate strategies, procedures and culture.

We embrace our responsibilities in the business world to face current and future ecological and social challenges. This is why our actions focus on responsible business practices that are geared towards long-term and sustainable strategies with the goal of reducing our ecological footprint.

It is our aspiration to create a dynamic and safe working environment for our teams and to build a relationship with our customers and business associates that is characterized by fairness and reliability. This is achieved through the constant improvement of our services as well as the conducting of our business in accordance with the highest international standards. We firmly believe that we create trust through the transparency of our actions – within our own company, with our customers and business associates and with the public at large.

Growth and Innovation

Bold. Flexible. Fast.

Our strength lies in our willingness to question existing structures.

We recognize potential in those markets and business areas that others avoid; we do not shy away from driving our dynamic growth and diversifying our portfolio in places far from the Flensburg Fjord.

We perceive the challenge of the balance between strategic planning and flexible implementation as a continuous incentive and a capability that sets us apart in special way. This ability is demonstrated by our employees every day. With their enthusiasm for our goals and willingness to embrace change, we are successfully breaking new ground together.

Quality and Safety

Exceeding standards. Setting new benchmarks.

Quality and safety are the pillars of our day-to-day activities.

As such, international safety standards are a matter of course for us. We strive to not only meet requirements, but to set new standards. Safety and quality are closely interconnected in our business – just like our qualified staff on land and aboard ship. This collaboration is an essential part of the quality we provide on board our vessels. Our additional safety training sessions take place regularly in collaboration with international authorities and naval units. This guarantees our guests the highest level of safety at all times.

Leadership

Straightforward. Loyal.

Our leadership culture is characterized trust, openness, fairness and objectivity.

We lead in a comprehensible and consistent manner. We specify our assignments, skills and responsibilities clearly and put the potential of our staff to good use in the right positions.

Our aim is to provide our employees with career development opportunities within FRS and guide them towards greater personal responsibility.

We quickly entrust our co-workers with responsible tasks and thus enable their personal growth at an early stage. We value, give and expect open and constructive feedback.

Through this honest and direct communication means we avoid misunderstandings and create a fair way of dealing with each other – regardless of existing hierarchies. We handle mistakes and conflicts open-mindedly and value the learnings that come from them.

The search for the optimal solution is our priority and serves to continuously improve our procedures.

Employees

We.

We value ambitious, loyal and committed employees who we inspire to shape the future of our company in a bold corporate culture.

As such, we benefit from the cultural and social diversity of our teams and appreciate their positive attitude, their receptiveness to new things and their inquisitive nature. These are the basic requirements for our success. Our aim is to create a motivating environment, in which our employees enjoy working and feel appreciated. We attach great importance to diversity and equality in our working environment and reject all forms of discrimination.