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Ferry traffic coming back after QN sinking

Traffic levels on the northern ferry routes have not yet returned to pre-Queen of the North sinking volumes, according to British Columbia Ferry Services Inc's latest annual report.For the year ended March 31, 2008, BC Ferry Services carried 102,000 passengers and 34,000 vehicles on the three northern routes (Skidegate-Prince Rupert, Prince Rupert-Port Hardy and the Discovery Coast). Those numbers are up about 30 percent over volumes in the previous year, when schedules had to be reduced due to the loss of the Queen of the North.But the latest numbers are down from the three years leading up to the sinking. In each of those years, about 117,000 passengers and 37,000 vehicles travelled on the northern routes.Overall, BC Ferry Services reported that net earnings fell for the year ended March 31, 2008 to $37.1-million, down 24 percent from the $48.8-million earned in the previous year.The complete 2007/2008 annual report is available at www.bcferries.com