Overview
- The Department of Fisheries and Oceans Canada confirmed it received a report of a collision involving a Hullo Ferries vessel near Vancouver and said the company is cooperating.
- Hullo Ferries said its catamaran Spuhels likely made contact during a scheduled sailing and that the bridge team initiated evasive action and executed a stop maneuver under safety procedures.
- The company reported the incident to DFO, the Canadian Coast Guard, First Nations partners and the Whale Reporting Alert System, and DFO alerted enforcement offices and the Pacific Whale Watch Association.
- Authorities have not confirmed the whale’s condition beyond observations that it moved away, and they reminded operators that accidental contacts must be reported under Marine Mammal Regulations.
- Hullo Ferries says it will review findings to reduce future risk, and the event follows a separate recent case in which researchers found a dead humpback after a reported B.C. Ferries strike.