Hullo Ferries cancels Tuesday sailings

The new high-speed ferry service between downtown Vancouver and Nanaimo has cancelled sailings for Tuesday.

Hullo Ferries says all scheduled sailings have been suspended with the plan to resume Wednesday. All sailings on Monday, the company’s intended launch date, were also cancelled.

Related Stories: 

• Hullo Ferries CEO emphasizes safety, thanks passengers for patience while finding ‘sea legs’

• All inaugural Hullo ferry sailings between Nanaimo and Vancouver cancelled

The service attributes the disruption to a power outage experienced at the berth in Nanaimo Sunday night and strong winds.

Sailings are expected to resume Wednesday on a “revised temporary launch schedule” that’s expected to be in place until Aug. 30.

The modified schedule includes daily sailings from Vancouver at 12 p.m. and 6:30 p.m., and from Nanaimo at 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m.

The company says people who were booked on the sailings Tuesday will be contacted about rescheduling.

Alastair Caddick, CEO of the new ferry service, said Monday that cancelling inaugural sailings was not an easy choice — but it was a safe one.

“We’re really disappointed,” he said. “Our team and our crew have really been working hard for months to prepare for the inaugural sailing.”

Hullo has a fleet of two high-speed catamarans that are supposed to carry more than 300 people between the two cities in just over an hour.

The company’s launch comes as BC Ferries has been experiencing challenges in recent months, including mechanical issues with its vessels, and technical problems with its website and booking systems.

With files from Chad Harris, Martin MacMahon, Emma Crawford, and Pippa Norman