BC Ferries says broken down vessel could take weeks to fix

BC Ferries’ difficult summer is continuing as it reveals its broken-down vessel on the Tsawwassen-Nanaimo route will likely take weeks to fix.

Multiple sailings on the key route have been cancelled Thursday due to mechanical problems with the Coastal Renaissance vessel.

Nicolas Jimenez, CEO of BC Ferries, says the problem is with one of the boat’s motors.

“This is not a simple fix. This is, in fact, a very complicated fix that will take an extended period of time that is expected to take weeks, not days,” he told reporters on Thursday.

“This is a really, really unfortunate, unexpected issue that we’ve had with a vessel. There’s no question it will cause challenges for people who had planned travel, for sure.”

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He says the company is still working to find out exactly how long the ship will be out of commission. In the meantime, Jimenez says affected passengers will be taken care of.

“We have very clear protocols in place. We want people to know that anyone who has had a reservation cancelled will get an immediate refund and a voucher for free travel at another time,” he said.

The CEO says drive-up spots on sailings between Tsawwassen and Nanaimo will likely be limited to accommodate those who have already made a reservation, similar to what happened when the Coastal Celebration vessel was docked earlier in the summer.

“We have robust maintenance programs to make sure these things don’t happen and yet, when you know you run this many ships on this many routes — we run 450 sailings a day, 60,000 people a day — you’re going to run into issues. The issue is how quickly and how effectively can you respond?” Jimenez said.

With this being the second vessel on a major route being pulled this summer, Jimenez says it’s been different parts that have been the issue in each case. However, he notes that there are plans in the coming months to potentially purchase new boats for the fleet.

“Those are questions that will go to our board in the next six to eight months,” he said.