BC Ferries website inaccurately displays 9-sailing wait Tuesday morning: corporation

Update: BC Ferries is responding after its website showed a mass sailing wait early Tuesday, saying what was being displayed online was “not accurate.” 

It wasn’t even 6 a.m. before BC Ferries sailings between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay were sold out until at least 6 p.m. Tuesday.

A nine-sailing wait so early on a non-holiday adjacent weekday is almost unheard of, and comes as the corporation continues to face challenges, one of which is an out-of-service vessel, forcing several daily cancellations.

By 6:03 a.m. Tuesday, BC Ferries was already selling reservations to fill sailings between 6 p.m. and 9 p.m. the same day, the former already 30 per cent full.

A screenshot of the BC Ferries website on Tuesday, July 25, showing a nine-sailing wait for the Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay route.

A day earlier also saw sailing waits for those trying to get between Tsawwassen and Victoria. By Monday afternoon, reservations on the same route were sold out, with BC Ferries ticketing for Tuesday morning.

The ongoing challenges have forced many, like Ron and Colleen Gunter, into uncomfortable situations.

“What happened to the BC Ferries system for people? They turned us away. We’re living in Victoria, we’ve got nowhere to go, we spent the whole night here,” said Ron, who adds he and his wife were forced to spend the night in their vehicle at the Tsawwassen terminal.

“I’m 80 and I’ve got medicine at home I’ve got to take. It’s just ridiculous. They should not make it all reserved, they should have some just drive up.”

“We shouldn’t be sitting here all night long in the parking lot,” Ron added. 

“It was all reserved, you had to have a reservation,” Colleen said. “First time in my 62 years to have this happen … Not everyone has cells — older people, I didn’t expect to have this.”

The couple tells CityNews they’re now being forced to go home via Salt Spring to avoid waiting all day.

Colleen and Ron Gunter tell CityNews they were forced to sleep in their car at the Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal the night of July 24 because of massive sailing waits for the route. Ron, 80, says the situation is “just ridiculous.” (Martin MacMahon, CityNews Image)

The extended sailing waits have prompted BC Ferries to urge travellers to consider alternate routes to get to and from Vancouver Island.

Given reservations for the Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay route were unavailable for much of the day, BC Ferries has recommended passengers without a booking consider taking ferries from Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay, or Tsawwassen to Duke Point.

#BCFHeadsUp
Customers w/out a booking, travelling by vehicle to Vancouver Island today should travel from #HorseshoeBay to #DepartureBay or #Tsawwassen to #DukePoint.

#Tsawwassen to #SwartzBay sailings are full for most of the day with limited space on 7 pm & 9 pm sailings. pic.twitter.com/uNTQHZwZEz

— BC Ferries (@BCFerries) July 25, 2023

BC Ferries pulls vessel due to mechanical issues

BC Ferries was forced to pull the Coastal Celebration from service on July 19 due to ongoing mechanical problems. It previously said dry dock space had been secured for July 24, with the vessel “anticipated to return to service” later in the week.

That resulted in eight fewer sailings per day between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay, BC Ferries noted.

The mechanical issue that’s plagued BC Ferries sailings was determined to be “an ineffective blade seal” that was causing an oil leak.

“The hydraulic oil leaking from the blade seal is classified as a light mineral oil,” BC Ferries said in a statement July 19. “Prior to entering dry dock, the vessel will be surrounded by a containment boom. The equipment that is the source of the leak will be shut down while the vessel is waiting for repairs and a spill response teams will be closely monitoring the situation.”

Related articles: 

• BC Ferries warns of busy long weekend — weeks in advance

• BC Ferries sees massive wait times, limited reservations

Prior to this week’s delays, BC Ferries sailing waits were not uncommon. A busy weekend saw added pressure on the ferry system.

The corporation also saw significant sailing waits in earlier weeks, as it did before the Canada Day long weekend.

BC Ferries has said once the Coastal Celebration is back up and running again, things are expected to get back to normal.

“We really do believe that once the Celebration comes back into service that our capacity will be able to handle demand through the rest of July, and even into the long weekend,” Karen Johnston, the executive director of communications and engagement with BC Ferries, said last week.

BC United Leader Kevin Falcon has been among those to level criticism amid the ongoing woes. He says the challenges British Columbians have faced reserving a ride with BC Ferries are “awful.”

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