BC Ferries pulls Spirit of Vancouver Island over mechanical issue, sailings cancelled

BC Ferries has taken the Spirit of Vancouver Island vessel temporarily out of service due to a mechanical issue.

The large ship which operates between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay will not operate this weekend — the last weekend before most schools return from spring break.

According to BC Ferries, the vessel has a hydraulic issue with the port-side controllable pitch propeller. Engineers are working on the issue and should determine the vessel’s status early next week.

This means there will only be three ferries operating on Sunday as opposed to four. As a result, some sailings have been cancelled.

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Cancelled sailings and March 25 and 26:

• Saturday: Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen, 12 p.m.
• Saturday: Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay, 2 p.m.
• Sunday: Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay, 12 p.m. and 4 p.m.
• Sunday: Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.

BC Ferries says customers with reservations on the above sailings will be accommodated on the next scheduled sailing. The company will also run additional sailings on the Queen of New Westminster to help make up for the loss.

New sailings on Queen of New Westminster on March 25 and 26:

• Saturday: Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay, 12 p.m. and 2 p.m.
• Saturday: Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen, 2 p.m. and 6 p.m.
• Sunday: Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay, 10 a.m.
• Sunday: Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen, 8 p.m. and 10 p.m.

There will also be two additional sailings between Tsawwassen and Duke Point on Sunday morning.

With a busy weekend of travel expected across the system, BC Ferries suggests customers make reservations to guarantee their trip.