Hullo Ferries says Ryan Dermody has left the company and Marco Ahrens will serve as acting CEO while the ferry operator continues its Downtown Vancouver–Nanaimo service.
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Hullo Ferries has announced a leadership change at the private ferry operator, with Ryan Dermody departing earlier this month after about 16 months as its chief executive.
Dermody joined the company’s board in January 2024 and became acting CEO in May 2025, after the inaugural CEO, Alastair Caddick, returned to his Vancouver-based firm, Cascadia Strategy Consulting Partners. Following a recruitment and search process, Dermody was appointed permanent CEO in November 2025.
As of this month, Dermody has taken on a new role as executive vice president of marine operations at Vancouver-based Bridgemans Services Group, a company described as specializing in marine logistics, marine construction, and floatel operations.
Hullo Ferries said Marco Ahrens, its general manager, is now serving as acting CEO. Ahrens’ experience includes more than 20 years in leadership, including a recent senior vice president role at Oceanex and, before that, 13 years as president of Canship Ugland.
In a statement, Ahrens said the company has “an exceptional team” and a “strong opportunity ahead,” adding that Hullo will focus on delivering safe, reliable and welcoming ferry service for customers and the communities it serves.
Hullo Ferries launched its high-speed passenger ferry route between Downtown Vancouver and Nanaimo in August 2023. The service runs multiple round trips daily, with each crossing taking about 75 minutes.
The operator said the route has reached major milestones, including carrying more than 1.5 million passengers across nearly 10,000 sailings by its third anniversary last month. The company’s fourth operating year will therefore begin with a large, established ridership base.
Hullo also said it plans to eventually launch a second route between Downtown Vancouver and Greater Victoria. The proposal would require expanding its fleet beyond its current two vessels.
A larger fleet, the company said, would improve resilience for the Nanaimo service and add redundancy that can support “backup capacity” if vessels are unavailable.
In describing its growth and the timing of the next phase, Hullo said the service has developed a “solid revenue base” and gained a “strong passenger following,” positioning it for future expansion.
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