A BC Ferries vessel has broken down on a busy Easter Monday travel day.
The Queen of Coquitlam experienced a mechanical issue around 1 p.m. and as a result, some sailings between Langdale (Sunshine Coast) and Horseshoe Bay (Vancouver) have been cancelled.
The following sailings are cancelled:
- 2:10 p.m. departing Horseshoe Bay
- 3:15 p.m. departing Langdale
BC Ferries said at 2:20 p.m. that it was a pitch control issue with its vessel and that has now been repaired.
“The vessel will conduct sea trials using the available tug while the crew awaits final approval from Transport Canada to resume service with the 4:20 pm sailing to Langdale,” the organization said in a news release.
If anyone had a booking on one of the cancelled sailings they will be contacted.
In the meantime, three 12-passenger water taxis were sourced to provide complimentary passenger travel between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale terminals.
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Rohana Rezel was on board the ferry when it stopped working.
He and his family went to the Sunshine Coast for the weekend and while the ferry left Langdale on time, after only a few nautical miles from the terminal, the ferry broke down.
“They said once the tugboat gets here, it’s going to be about another 40 minutes to the terminal,” Rezel said.
The boat was stopped for about three hours.
Rezel said some people on board have flights to catch and others have appointments so there are some frustrated passengers.
“Especially, given that it’s a long weekend, they should make sure the ferries are in ship shape, so to speak,” he added.
BC Ferries said that both vessels supporting the Langdale (Sunshine Coast) and Horseshoe Bay (Vancouver) route this weekend are almost 50 years old.
“As vessels age, maintenance becomes more frequent and complex – reinforcing the importance of our long-term fleet renewal strategy to improve reliability, add capacity, and better support growing demand,” a spokesperson said.
Recently, the BC Ferries Commission approved four new vessels be built to replace four of the current vessels. BC Ferries had originally asked for approval for five.
This comes after a busy Good Friday at the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal when about 40 vehicles missed their reservation due to a massive backlog of traffic at the terminal and on Highway 1.
West Vancouver police even warned people to stay away as Highway 1 approaching Horseshoe Bay was heavily backed up due to Whistler traffic, along with ferry traffic.
BC Ferries said that the congestion on Highway 1 was compounded by a surge in Whistler-bound traffic and a broken-down commercial vehicle blocking a lane on the Upper Levels.
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