BC Ferries is hoping the use of bomb dogs will sniff out crime before it happens.
Spokeswoman Deborah Marshall says the company has been using the dogs at five of its major ferry terminals for the past six months.
Marshall says the dogs are used randomly to sniff out explosives on routes running between Vancouver Island and the mainland. There are no current plans to use the dogs for drug sniffing.
She says the dogs - which come from a private security firm that provides canine support -- were brought in ahead of new Transport Canada security requirements, expected to be implemented next year.
Marshall says other security measures include additional closed-circuit cameras and new employee identification cards.
BC Ferries dealt with at least two bomb threats last year, including an incident in July 2007 that cancelled 21 sailings and stranded thousands of passengers.
Only a few months earlier, Transport Canada gave the Ferry Corporation $3.9 million to increase security on ships and ports, but Marshall says these funds were mostly allocated for perimeter security and new fencing.
Ships sail between Tsawwassen, B.C. and Swartz Bay on Vancouver Island almost hourly. Larger vessels carry up to 470 vehicles and 2,100 passengers.
