A wharf in the Inner Harbour last used by a now-defunct Victoria-Vancouver passenger ferry is being taken apart to make way for a new wharf that will accommodate Clipper operations while the Belleville Terminal is being redeveloped.
Crews began dismantling the dock with the help of a crane barge on Tuesday.
The Ministry of Transportation Infrastructure said a new wharf to accommodate the Victoria-Seattle ferry will be installed this summer after the existing wharf has been removed.
Portions of the new wharf have already been built near Cowichan Bay and will be barged to the Inner Harbour for installation, the ministry said in a statement to the Times Colonist.
Clipper operations are being temporarily moved out of the Belleville Terminal, which is receiving an upgrade that involves construction of a new terminal where passengers headed to the U.S. can get customs preclearance and a new terminal for processing commercial goods crossing the border.
The redevelopment of the provincially owned, privately operated facility is expected to cost $304.93 million and be completed by 2027.
Transport Canada Harbour Patrol will be on duty throughout the dock-replacement process, said Masami Teramichi of public relations firm tartanbond, representing the Greater Victoria Harbour Authority.
Work on the dock is expected to continue until Aug. 2 and occur between 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. on weekdays, she said in a statement.
The harbour authority is not involved and the provincial government is handling the refresh of the B.C.-owned dock, she said.
Located just beside the CPR Steamship Terminal building, the dock was last used by the V2V Vacations passenger ferry service between downtown Victoria and downtown Vancouver.
It went out of business in January 2020, two and a half years after it began operations.
A 126-foot, 242-seat catamaran, V2V Empress, sat empty beside the dock for years before its Australian-based owners sold the ship.
The vessel was packed up and shipped to the Caribbean in early 2023.
