BC Ferries Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay sees long delays due to pulled vessel

If you’re hoping to travel on the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay BC Ferries route Friday, patience, or at the very least a reservation, is highly recommended.

Following Thursday’s delays on the route due to one of the corporation’s largest vessels being pulled from service due to repairs, multiple sailing waits are in place on either side of the Salish Sea, with the next available standby space not free until the afternoon.

The ferry corporation says as the Spirit of Vancouver Island was moved to drydock after Thanksgiving, they are down to two vessels on the route.

“We are making repairs to the ballast tank on the Spirit of Vancouver Island. There were some cracks so they’re doing repairs, and it was required to lift the vessel out of the water in order to achieve that,” Deborah Marshall, who speaks for BC Ferries, told CityNews Friday.

“Those with reservations, they are flowing smoothly. It’s customers that do not have a booking that are facing sailing waits.”

Marshall says the repairs to the Spirit of Vancouver Island “are going very well.” She expects it to be back in service on Thursday, Oct. 19.

The Coastal Renaissance — which provides regular service between Horseshoe Bay and Departure Bay, and Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay — is also out of service, once again for repairs.

Related video: BC Ferries details repairs to major vessel

“We do expect that ship back on the run within December, in time for the busy holiday season,” she said.

“Currently, because we have two vessels operating between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay, instead of the three, we would suggest customers travelling without a reservation might want to consider travelling Tsawwassen to Duke Point, or Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay.”

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