Only a short time after it re-entered service, several sailings of the Queen of Surrey were cancelled Sunday and more sailings are at risk due to a mechanical issue.
Earlier this week, BC Ferries said the vessel would be out of service while undergoing a scheduled retrofit, as issues were found with its steering.
On Sunday, BC Ferries said the vessel had re-entered service, but crews identified a mechanical issue with its steering panel early in the morning. It was pulled out of service again after only 40 minutes. As a result, four morning sailings between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale had been cancelled. At about 1 p.m., the agency advised that the 12:10 p.m. and 1:15 p.m. trips had also been scrapped.
The breakdown left the company scrambling.
A replacement vessel was brought in to provide service starting with the 2:25 p.m. sailing departing from Horseshoe Bay. It’s expected this ferry would operate on the remaining trips on Sunday, but would force the cancellation of one return trip to Vancouver Island and a pair of return sailings between Horseshoe Bay and Duke Point on Monday.
Some people in cars trying to make one of the crossings told Global News they’ve felt there’s been a lack of communication.
“Very minimal other than coming up to the door or like the window and just kind of being like, ‘We don’t really know what’s going on; if you need a refund, go and see the front office,’” said Darlene Buttle Parsons, who had been waiting about 12 hours for her departure to Langdale.
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A statement from BC Ferries said affected passengers of cancelled sailings will hear from its customer service centre, which will let people know if they can be fit on an alternate sailing or if the booking must be cancelled. If cancelled, the agency said the fee and fares would be refunded.
It added four 12-person and one 38-person water taxis would provide complimentary service for foot passengers until full service resumed.
The cancellations are just the latest issue for BC Ferries, which also advised this past week that the Spirit of Vancouver Island would be out of commission for Easter weekend after a generator problem happened Tuesday. It had only returned to service last Sunday after a separate breakdown during spring break.
At the same time, the Coastal Celebration ferry is undergoing its annual retrofit and has been docked at Swartz Bay since March 8.
A smaller ferry to Texada Island also suffered a breakdown Friday and Saturday, forcing BC Ferries to reroute another vessel.
BC Ferries said in its statement the latest issues “underscore the challenges of operating an aging fleet.” It notes it applied to the BC Ferry Commissioner for a fifth New Major Vessel, but the proposal was not approved.
“Without that extra vessel, our ability to absorb disruptions like this is limited,” the statement said.
Diana Mumford, former chair of the Sunshine Coast Ferry Advisory Committee, says more needs to be done.
“Provide us ferry service that we can depend on, and not just sometimes or most of the time,” Mumford said in an interview with Global News. “It is something we need all of the time and we have one breakdown after another.”
Last March, the Office of the British Columbia Ferries Commission approved four new major vessels for its fleet. The new vessels will replace the aging Queen of Alberni, Queen of New Westminster, Queen of Coquitlam and Queen of Cowichan – the oldest major ships still in use.
Eric McNeely, provincial president of the BC Ferry and Marine Workers’ Union, told Global News the cancellations are the result of several factors, including an aging fleet, a maintenance team under pressure, and planning that “hasn’t kept pace with the demand.”
“Our engineering crews are working as much as they can to get the vessels back into service,” he said. “But as vessels get older, they require more maintenance and they require the resource to do that. You know, that’s money, but that’s also time and also skills.”
He added they’ve heard from maintenance crews that the time allotted for refits has been “compressed.”
BC Ferries added in its statement it expects to accommodate all traffic currently staged at both terminals, but customers should be aware no further standby space is available on this route for the remainder of Sunday.
— with files from Global News’ Amy Judd
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