Sailings between Langdale and Horseshoe Bay cancelled after BC ferry strikes dock 

LANGDALE (NEWS 1130) – Sailings have been cancelled until 5:30 p.m. between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale after the ship servicing the route, the Queen of Surrey, ran into a dock.

The BC Ferries vessel is stuck at the Langdale Terminal after running into the dock around 8:10 a.m. on Tuesday.

Debrah Marshall with BC Ferries and says they will need a tug boat to move the ferry.

“The ship came into contact with the berthing and is currently caught on a pontoon,” Marshall adds. “The ship crews and engineers are currently assessing the ship as well as the dock.”

The next sailing out of Horseshoe Bay won’t be until 5:30 p.m., while the next sailing out of Langdale is set for 6:40 p.m.

No injuries have been reported but Marshall says there will be delays on the Horseshoe Bay to Langdale route – likely throughout the day.

In the meantime, water taxis has been transporting foot passengers between the two points.

“We have called a tug and service between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale is temporarily suspended until further notice at this point,” she adds.

Jennifer Garden was waiting for the ferry to Horseshoe Bay when she heard a loud crash.

“I said to my kids ‘was that thunder, did you hear that?’ and then all of the sudden we saw people looking and you can see that the ferry has run up onto the dock,” she told NEWS 1130.

In a tweet, BC Ferries said Tuesday afternoon that regular service would resume on Wednesday.

Transportation Minister Claire Trevena says details on the incident so far are limited.

“The ferry had a hard landing, ran into the dock,” Trevena adds. “Haven’t yet had an explanation of why they ran into the dock.”

The first priority is getting passengers to safety then, she says, the focus will turn to determining the cause.

Trevena says people need to remember that these incidents are very rare which is a testament to BC Ferries strong safety record.