SEATTLE — The Victoria Clipper ferry set sail again on Friday after a brief hiatus.
Passengers traveling from Victoria, Canada, arrived at Seattle's Pier 69 for the first time in months.
The Clipper had stopped all operations in March 2020, due to pandemic restrictions. By fall 2021, the Clipper began rehiring staff to prepare to resume service in September.
But after just a couple of weeks of sailings, the Clipper decided to suspend trips again, mainly due to Canada's stringent COVID testing requirements.
Scott Meis oversees marketing for the Victoria Clipper, and said testing requirements were challenging.
"We just found that it was really too much of a barrier. People were being turned back," Meis said.
Come April 1, Canada lifted its requirements for COVID testing completely, which was a green light for the Clipper to resume operations.
"That was the huge barrier that we were looking to remove and even as of today, with the first sailing, we saw that was the key to having seamless border travel," Meis said.
The Clipper departs once a day from Seattle to Victoria, and vice versa. For now, Meis said passenger capacity stands at about 230, which is almost half the full capacity of around 525.
Staffing remains a challenge, but Meis said they expect to be fully staffed by May.
"Like so much of the maritime industry, Washington State Ferries and others, everybody's really struggling to find maritime staff," Meis said.
At this time, passengers must show proof of vaccination before taking the Clipper.
Schedules can be found here.