BC Ferries cancels several sailings between Horseshoe Bay and Departure Bay
Posted June 30, 2022 6:34 am.
Last Updated June 30, 2022 4:32 pm.
BC Ferries says it has been forced to pull the Queen of Alberni from service Thursday, impacting sailings between Nanaimo and West Vancouver.
The repairs are described as “significant” and there is a chance that sailings will be impacted Friday as well.
8:05 – View from the @CityNewsVAN Air patrol @DangerOnAir above the #Tsawwassen ferry terminal. It’s extra busy for travellers due to ferry cancellations ahead of the Canada Day weekend. For the latest on this story listen live https://t.co/0i9La8P9Ow pic.twitter.com/MsveUDoaHv
— CityNews Vancouver Traffic (@CityNewsTraffic) June 30, 2022
BC Ferries has been very busy ahead of the Canada Day long weekend, and many alternate sailings are fully booked up. Passengers are encouraged to walk on if possible or rearrange their travel plans to leave Friday instead.
The following Queen of Alberni sailings on June 30, 2022 have been cancelled:
- 7:40 am out of Departure Bay
- 10:00 am out of Horseshoe Bay
- 12:25 pm out of Departure Bay
- 2:45 pm out of Horseshoe Bay
- 5:00 pm out of Departure Bay
- 7:20 pm out of Horseshoe Bay
- 9:30 pm out of Departure Bay
- 11:40 pm out of Horseshoe Bay
Other sailings on this route are expected to proceed as scheduled.
Deb Marshall, spokesperson for BC Ferries, says those with reservations are not guaranteed a spot.
“We certainly hope to be able to accommodate these customers,” Marshall said. “But we already had a full reservations on the sailings that are going, so unfortunately we will have to wait to see what we can do for those customers to get them on their way.”
She says they are expecting an update on the vessel and when it will be returning to service.
“Unfortunately we did have an issue with a cylinder liner head on the Queen of Alberni. We do have a team trying to rectify this situation. They’re working very hard to fix it. But unfortunately, the repairs are taking longer and we did have to temporarily remove that vessel from service today,” she said.
Marshall adds that in addition to Canadians travelling for the long weekend, Americans are also here as July 4 is Monday.
Customers that had bookings on the cancelled Queen of Alberni sailings will be refunded and sent a voucher for a future trip, according to Marshall.
For more information about bookings on cancelled sailings, head to the BC Ferries website.
Vancouver Island tourism concerns
Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog says disruptions like this have a lasting impact on the Vancouver Island economy and his community.
“I’m afraid that a lot of people who would otherwise be planning vacations on Vancouver Island are simply going to go someplace else. They’re going to go to the Interior, and Penticton and Kelowna and Merritt and Kamloops will be the beneficiaries of the tourism trade that we’ll be relying on,” he said.
He wants to see more being done to ensure the ferries are a reliable service in the province.
Spoke to @mayorkrog. He says hotels, motels, restaurants, etc. are going to suffer as a result of this. “The timing couldn’t be worse.” He wants @BCFerries “to get its act together” and ensure it has enough staff/mechanically sound ships to sail. More on @CityNewsVAN. https://t.co/FinKZDy34o
— Sonia Aslam (@SoniaSAslam) June 30, 2022
“It’s incredibly important that BC Ferries get its act together and ensure that it has the trained employees available and ships that are mechanically sound and safe. Otherwise, we’re going to continue to see these kinds of terrible disruptions,” Krog said Thursday morning.
He says people, including business owners, are getting more and more frustrated with the disruptions.
“How do you plan to operate a business, to get to medical appointments?”
“It’s getting to be a pain in the posterior I must say,” Krog added.
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With files from Sonia Aslam
