On a day when Translink said it will add a third SeaBus to its fleet sometime in 2009, passengers on the BC Ferries system were being warned to expect higher prices in the near future.

B.C. Transportation Minister Kevin Falcon said BC Ferry passenger should prepare for another ferry fuel surcharge in September to cover the cost of soaring fuel prices.

"It is another hit and I'm apologetic for that but I don't want to try and pretend that there's any magic solutions to the fact that fuel prices have doubled in the last 12 months,'' Falcon said. 

No-one knows how big the surcharge will be. But when it comes, it will be the fourth surcharge for ferry riders in three years.

The ferry price warning came on the heels of  Wednesday's announcement that SeaBus will expand its fleet to cope with expected increases in passenger traffic, resulting from higher fuel prices.

"This new SeaBus will help reduce traffic and greenhouse gas emissions, which is a key goal of the provincial government's new transit plan," Falcon told reporters during a press conference in Vancouver, Wednesday.

The new vessel will cost $25 million, and will be built at the Washington Marine Group shipyards in Victoria. The provincial government is contributing $4.8 million towards the project.

The new ship is expected to be completed by summer 2009, and will first replace one of the two older vessels as it is refurbished and updated. All three vessels will be sailing across Burrard Inlet by early 2010.

Each SeaBus, an aluminum catamaran, holds 400 passengers for the 12 minute trip between Waterfront Station in downtown Vancouver and Lonsdale Quay in North Vancouver.

The third SeaBus will mean more frequent trips for travelers - every 10 minutes at peak times, compared with the current schedule of 15 minutes between sailings.

The additional SeaBus is part of a $14-billion dollar public transit plan announced by the provincial government in January.

The plan includes major transit developments in the next 12 years, including the Evergreen Line, extensions of the SkyTrain to UBC and the Expo Line to Surrey, as well as more funding for the Canada Line on the Cambie Street Corridor. Around 1,000 new buses will also be added.

With a report by CTV British Columbia's Mike Killeen.