A company previously tasked with building the new Kootenay Lake ferry is being sued for over $6 million in unpaid fees.
Western Pacific Marine, which was in charge of the ferry’s construction until it was removed from the project in early December by the provincial government, has been named a defendant in a civil claim by Eco HeavyDuty Repairs.
The lawsuit, filed Dec. 24 in B.C. Supreme Court, alleges Vancouver-based Eco HeavyDuty Repairs is owed $6.4 million for unspecified work done on the ferry, which is under construction at a temporary dry dock on Kootenay Lake near Nelson.
In the claim, Eco HeavyDuty says it operated on an oral agreement with Western Pacific Marine until Jan. 1, 2024. Following that, the companies entered into a contract that stated Eco HeavyDuty could bill monthly.
The company says it submitted 86 invoices from January 2025 to September 2025, during which it was paid $11.7 million. But it alleges Western Pacific Marine “refused or neglected” to pay outstanding invoices, which totalled $6.7 million until the company paid back nearly $321,000 in October and November.
“As a result of WPM’s breach of the contract, EHDR has suffered and continues to suffer damage, loss, and expense, including but not limited [to] non-payment of the outstanding balance and any applicable contractual interest.”
Neither a lawyer for Eco HeavyDuty Repairs nor a Western Pacific Marine spokesperson responded to requests for comment by the Nelson Star.
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Western Pacific Marine was awarded the $63-million provincial contract in 2021 to build a new ferry and prepare both the vessel and terminals to run exclusively on electric power by 2030.
The original deadline for the ferry’s completion was 2023 but faced several delays that were attributed to the inland location of the build site and a shortage of specialized trades people. Now the Ministry of Transportation and Transit says work will be finished in late 2026 and the ferry operational in 2027, at a cost of $117 million.
The new 55-car vessel is meant to replace the MV Balfour, which was built in 1954 and is one of two ferries servicing the route between Balfour and Kootenay Bay.