B.C. Ferries is reassuring customers it is taking all steps necessary to address the expected surge of passengers travelling to-and-from Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland for Easter long weekend.
A number of sailings have been cancelled this week, including from Duke Point and Tsawwassen and at a press conference Thursday, April 2, Nicolas Jimenez, B.C. Ferries’ president and CEO, said the Spirit of Vancouver Island ferry, servicing Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay, as well as the Queen of Surrey (Duke Point-Tsawwassen) are both out of service at one of the busiest times of the year and it is not lost on them that this affects people’s travel plans. He anticipates both vessels will be back in service sometime during the long weekend.
“Our engineering teams are working around the clock, and based on the latest information that we have from this morning, I am cautiously optimistic that the Spirit of Vancouver Island is going to be able to come back into service in time to provide support during the Easter weekend. We will know more about this [Friday] morning,” Jimenez said.
Stephen Jones, B.C. Ferries’ vice-president of engineering, expressed similar optimism about the Queen of Surrey, which is projected to be back in service by Sunday. He said the vessel was undergoing a “partial life extension,” as the company needs to operate those types of vessels for longer, which requires more detailed work.
“Part of that work was to replace the propulsion control systems on that vessel, as well as the steering control systems. Now in commissioning, issues have been found with a couple of the items on the steering system, which are being run to ground … we knew it was a tight window, but the reality is, it’s the only one we had. So we did all we could to mitigate potential issues, to prioritize the work and drive the work through. We have had a couple of commissioning issues, which are not unexpected … that’s what’s caused a two day delay,” Jones told the News Bulletin.
Coliform and E. coli were detected in water on B.C. Ferries’ vessels in March, something Jimenez also addressed. B.C. Ferries gets its potable water from the same sources that provide water for people’s homes and has “stringent testing standards and safety management and safety management systems that follow industry best practices” which are working as designed.
“In four cases, an initial sample identified a potential issue, while in a fifth, it was our engineers who identified a discoloration in the water,” said Jimenez. “In all cases, we acted immediately, restricting use, notifying customers, and working closely with public health on follow-on testing and importantly, none of those initial results, whether it was for E. coli, total coliform or lead, have been found to be above acceptable level.”
In terms of long weekend travel, Jimenez recommended against going to a terminal without a vehicle reservation.
“If you’re traveling over Easter and you don’t have a reservation, you should still expect extremely limited standby availability on the affected routes throughout the entire weekend,” he said. “We anticipate that there’s going to be long waits for standby traffic. So if you can, please consider walking on, or adjusting your travel plans if possible. As well, our parking lots often reach capacity during all long weekends. So if you have the option to take public transit … or arrange to be dropped off at a terminal (that would be best).”
Reservations can be done online at www.bcferries.com.
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