BC Ferries resumes service after sailings cancelled by mechanical woes

BC Ferries resumed regular service between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay on Sunday, after cancelling four sailings due to mechanical troubles.

BC Ferries said one of its vessels, the Queen of New Westminster, was experiencing more problems with a controllable pitch propeller and had to undergo testing Sunday morning.

Last weekend, the ferry service cancelled multiple sailings on the high-volume route due to pitch propeller troubles with the same vessel.

This weekend, four more sailings were scrapped due to problems with the 54-year-old vessel.

Asked about how the same problem cropped up two weekends in a row on the service’s busiest route, spokesperson Deborah Marshall said crews were doing their best.

“The engineers thought they had it fixed last week, and unfortunately it cropped up again. Our engineers work very hard to try to maintain our vessels but from time to time we do have mechanical problems,” she said.

She added that the company believes the issue has been resolved.

“The engineers have made some tweaks to the vessel, they’ve taken it out for sea trials,” she said.

WATCH: Another weekend of ferry delays for BC Ferries

1:39 Another weekend of ferry delays for BC Ferries

The 6 p.m. sailing leaving Tsawwassen and the 8 p.m. sailing leaving Swartz Bay were both cancelled on Saturday, as were an 8 a.m. from Tsawwassen and 10 a.m. from Swartz Bay on Sunday.

BC Ferries said customers with reservations on cancelled sailings will be refunded their reservation fee, and were accommodated on the next available sailing.

Marshall said that during peak summer season, there are no additional vessels available to substitute during a breakdown.

BC Ferries did have one surplus vessel until last year, when it sold the Queen of Nanaimo to Fiji.

Some replacements are expected in the coming years for BC Ferries’ aging fleet.

Five new C-Class replacement vessels, designed to service the Duke Point-Tsawwassen, Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay and Horseshoe Bay-Langdale routes, have been announced, but the first won’t be ready until at least 2024.

-With files from Ted Chernecki and Richard Zussman