BC Ferries summer schedule adds vessels to key routes

In anticipation of yet another busy summer travel season, BC Ferries says it’s adding vessels to some of its key routes to help get people to and from the mainland.

The corporation says five additional boats on routes between Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, and the Southern Gulf Islands will boost the total number of sailings by more than 4,700 between now and Labour Day.

BC Ferries says it expects nearly 2.6 million vehicles and almost seven million passengers through the coming three months.

BC Ferries staffing-related cancellations still possible

While BC Ferries is increasing its scheduled sailings, it admits its staffing situation is still the same as it’s been for a couple of years, meaning cancellations are possible if it can’t find enough qualified workers to cover what it describes as “unexpected absences.”

Last year, BC Ferries says it was forced to cancel more than 300 sailings between June, July, and August — 0.7 per cent of all its sailings in that time period — because of staffing shortages.

“We’ve done a lot to ensure smooth sailing this summer, but we need to be prepared that not all ships will sail all of the time,” said BC Ferries President and CEO Nicolas Jimenez.

“Even though we have more people, we are short backup staff in key positions to cover unexpected absences. I hope customers will continue to offer their understanding as we grapple with retirements and a global shortage of 21,000 professional mariners.”

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BC Ferries says its “system-wide hiring initiative” has seen more than 1,200 staff added in the last year. That includes 140 recent recruits, more than 70 of them from Ukraine.

“The issues we’re facing are complex and while we’re hiring more people, boosting training budgets and cross-training staff so they can be re-deployed in areas of greatest need, getting to long-term reliability and sustainability will take time,” said Jimenez. “I offer my heartfelt thanks to the BC Ferries team for their ongoing dedication, offering back-up when they can to mitigate impacts to customer service where possible.”

According to the corporation, regulation requires vessels to have “a minimum number of skilled mariners before a sailing can depart.”

It notes “back-up crews are particularly thin at Swartz Bay and Nanaimo, meaning even one or two crew absences can result in a cancelled sailing.”

BC Ferries customers are being asked to plan ahead and check conditions before they head out.