BC ferry breaks down and pulled from service

Less than a week before the long weekend, the Queen of Surrey ferry will be pulled from the sailing schedule to repair a worn down clutch.

The other vessel servicing the route, the Queen of Coquitlam, will continue to sail but on a modified schedule.

Today and tomorrow, the same number of round trips will be provided, however some sailing times will be later in the day. On Thursday, two fewer round trips will be provided.

While the Queen of Surrey is expected to be out of service for at least three days, according to Deborah Marshall, media relations for BC Ferries, they will be getting an update on the vessel either late tomorrow or Thursday morning.

Get daily National news

Get the day's top news, political, economic, and current affairs headlines, delivered to your inbox once a day.

Sign up for daily National newsletter Sign Up

By providing your email address, you have read and agree to Global News' Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy.

So what’s a ferry traveller to do?

Marshall says customers who made reservations will be contacted by BC Ferries customer care centre and in some cases may need to switch sailings. And anyone planning a ferry trip this week can expect traffic on Thursday from mid to late afternoon to be busier than normal.

But Marshall is confident they will be able to carry all the traffic by the end of the day and in the event they don’t, they will have an extra sailing to get people to their destinations by the end of day.

BC Ferries says their engineers will “work around the clock to effect mechanical repairs as quickly and safely as possible.”

The following schedule will be in place from Aug. 26-28:

Depart Langdale:                             Depart Horseshoe Bay

6:20 a.m.                                                              7:25 a.m.

8:30 a.m.                                                              9:40 a.m.

10:50 a.m.                                                           12:00 p.m.

1:05 p.m.                                                             2:15 p.m.

3:25 p.m.                                                             4:30 p.m.

5:30 p.m.                                                             6:35 p.m.

7:35 p.m.                                                             8:40 p.m.

9:40 p.m.                                                             10:35 p.m.

In addition, an extra round trip will be provided on the Earls Cove – Saltery Bay route today, tomorrow and Thursday departing Saltery Bay at 10:25 p.m. and departing Earls Cove at 11:25 p.m.