Two days ahead of Canada Day weekend, cancellations and delays begin for BC Ferries

With the Coastal Celebration out of commission until at least next week, Nanaimo Mayor Leonard Krog said there won’t be “much celebration” in his city this weekend, for those hoping to squeeze in a last-minute trip with BC Ferries.

The vessel was dry-docked for an “unplanned” and “extended refit” on Wednesday, meaning over 6,600 bookings had to be reassigned between Delta’s Tsawwassen and Victoria’s Swartz Bay over the Canada Day weekend. Eight sailings between the two cities were cancelled Thursday.

3:54 BC Ferries ship refit will cause long weekend delays

“The reality is that no one wants to spend an increasingly long weekend stuck in a ferry lineup somewhere or perhaps even giving up the prospect of a weekend on Vancouver Island because there’s no sense even trying to get in the lineup,” Krog said Thursday.

“It’s upsetting and it’s going to be hard for businesses and tourists, but hard on the families who are looking forward to the break they needed, let alone those of us who live here — nearly a million strong — who rely on ferries for pretty much everything they consume.”

The typical long weekend cancellations and delays — mostly linked to heavy vehicle traffic and crew shortages — appear to have already begun.

The Queen of Capilano, heading to Bowen Island, was 20 minutes behind schedule for its 8:35 a.m. sailing due to traffic volume, while the 9:55 a.m. sailing from Comox’s Little River and the 11:50 a.m. sailing departing Powell River’s Westview were cancelled due to a crew shortage.

7:10 BC Ferries warns of possible summer disruptions

The Salish Raven left more than 20 minutes late from its 9:25 a.m. sailing from Otter Bay to Victoria due to traffic, as did the the vessel leaving Village Bay’s Mayne Island terminal, which was waiting for connecting traffic from the Salish Raven.

Remaining vehicle space for sailings between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay sold out around 4 p.m. on Thursday, while BC Ferries said it was almost out of vehicle space for trips in the other direction by 7 p.m.

Vehicle deck space between Horseshoe Bay and Departure Bay sold out for the remainder of Thursday around 5 p.m.

“Please consider taxi service as parking lots will be busy,” BC Ferries tweeted.

“It is typical at the beginning of a long weekend,” said BC Ferries’ Deborah Marshall, referring to the handful of disruptions, cancellations and delays on Thursday.

“We do want to warn our customers who did not make a booking that they may face multiple sailing waits at both Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay tomorrow. For foot passengers, we do have our parking facilities at all of our major terminals.”

On long weekends, parking lots tend to fill up by Saturday morning. That information, in addition to all schedule and availability updates, will be available BC Ferries website and Twitter page throughout the weekend.

The union representing ferry workers is asking travellers not to take any frustration they may have out on those at the ticket booth, or on the vessels.

“There’s bound to be some friction there … we just look for some patience there, they are not the ones setting the schedule and they’re certainly the ones putting in long hours to try and vessels back into service,” said Eric McNeely, president B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers’ Union.

It’s likely the entire BC Ferries fleet will run on overtime over the summer due to staffing challenges, he added. Some his members are leaving BC Ferries and going elsewhere where the compensation packages are more competitive, he said.

2:06 BC Ferries warns of cancellations this summer

Marshall said BC Ferries has hired more than 1,200 people for the fleet this summer, but lacks some “resiliency” when it comes to having backup staff available.

BC United MLA Trevor Halford, shadow minister for transportation, called the situation “complete chaos.”

“BC Ferries knew that this vessel wasn’t going to be operational yet they continue to take reservations, and I think that’s why you’re seeing a lot of frustrations from people,” he said.

“BC Ferries is an extension of our highway system … People aren’t just travelling to and from the island for pleasure vacations, they’re travelling because they have doctor’s appointments, they need to visit loved ones, they have work commitments, they’re getting commercial goods across, and the fact is is this system is unreliable at a time when we need it the most.”

In an emailed statement, Transportation Minister Rob Fleming said he shares the public’s concerns.

“These sorts of disruptions are unacceptable for people and residents who depend upon BC Ferries for their travel,” he wrote. 

“I understand that BC Ferries is working to address staffing issues, including undertaking internal training as well as recruiting new workers.”