2nd Denman Island cable ferry breakdown prompts call for backup

Another breakdown for the controversial new B.C.cable ferry connectingtwo Gulf IslandstoVancouver Islandhas some calling for a contingency plan.

The Baynes Sound Connector was out of service for a few hours again last week, just as people tried to reach Denman and Hornby islands for the long weekend.

"Anything that might give people a bad impression or make it difficult for them to get there, it's really going to make them, I guess you could say, less likely to make the effort to take a holiday on Denman or Hornby," said Frank Frketich, chair of the Denman Island-Hornby Island Ferry Advisory Committee.

TheQuinitsa, aconventional ferry that used to serve the route,was brought in to help.Frketichsaid he has asked whether it couldstay in the area through the summer.

But BC Ferries says there's no plan to keep using itas a backup.

"Granted we have had two issues, but keepin mind that vessel has made thousands of sailings already," said BC Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall.

TheBaynesSound Connector was stranded by a hydraulic failure in May,leaving the ship dead in the water with 25 passengers aboard.

The cable ferry is a first for the BC Ferries fleet.According to BC Ferries, the new ferry uses less than half the fuel of the Quinitsa, reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 480 tonnes of CO2 equivalent annually.

Residents had expressed concerns about the vessel's reliability before it went into operation earlier this year, some of them wondering ifa cable ferry would be able to handle ocean conditions and West Coast weather.

With files from Megan Thomas