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Easter Weekend Breakdowns Trigger New BC Ferries Cancellations

The failures highlight an aging fleet with little spare capacity.

Overview

  • A steering-panel fault on the Queen of Surrey forced new cancellations on the busy Horseshoe BayLangdale route minutes after the ship returned to service.
  • BC Ferries later assigned a replacement ferry on that run and sent water taxis to carry foot passengers waiting at the terminals.
  • The company also scrubbed supplemental trips on the TsawwassenDuke Point corridor because of ongoing mechanical troubles.
  • On the TexadaPowell River link, a propulsion failure on the Island Discovery halted sailings as small water taxis shuttled passengers between docks.
  • BC Ferries and local leaders said the repeated failures point to an aging fleet with little backup capacity after regulators approved four new ships but declined a fifth.