The Queen of New Westminster was called in Monday to fill in for the Coastal Celebration on the Duke Point-Tsawwassen run, after the Celebration was temporarily pulled from service because of a mechanical problem.
B.C. Ferries’ engineering team had fixed the ferry’s propulsion system by late afternoon, allowing the Coastal Celebration to return to its planned 5:45 p.m. sailing from Tsawwassen to Duke Point.
Several sailings were cancelled Monday morning before the Queen of New Westminster went into service on the route starting at 2 p.m.
The Queen of Alberni also serves the Duke Point-Tsawwassen route.
All sailings that had been at risk of cancellation were back on the schedule Monday afternoon.
Monday’s latest schedule will see departures from Duke Point at 4:30 p.m., 5:45 p.m., 8:15 p.m. and 10:45 p.m.
Sailings were planned out of Tsawwassen at 5:45 p.m., 7 p.m., 8:15 p.m., and 10:45 p.m.
“Passenger vehicles are moving fairly well but there was some commercial traffic this morning that has backed up and the additional sailings will help get them where they need to be,” B.C. Ferries spokesperson Jeff Groot said Monday afternoon.
Cold temperatures also caused pipes to burst on some ferries during the weekend, particularly due to wind chill as vessels moved through the water.
“In certain situations, this meant that the temperature effect on the outside of the pipe’s insulation was in the -20 C range, because of the speed of the vessel through the water,” said Groot, adding B.C. Ferries was able to repair the problems “in a timely way to keep people moving.”
Newer vessels have trace heating around pipes inside the insulation, which helped prevent freezing, Groot said. Heat tracing is a system installed on pipes to maintain or increase their temperatures.
Staff are working to improve insulation and add heat tracing, especially around critical sections of pipes, he said, noting more comprehensive work will take place during future refits prior to next winter.
C.J. Johnson of Vancouver said he was in his truck on the upper car deck of the Coastal Celebration’s 3:15 p.m. sailing out of Duke Point on Sunday when, about 40 minutes into the sailing, he saw “water streaming out of the ceiling” —likely from a burst pipe.
Another truck stacked with what looked like furniture was being sprayed and covered in water, he said.
Crews were called to the site, and vehicles were moved out of the way to allow a staff member to erect a ladder and inspect the area, he said. While the volume of water was diminished somewhat, it continued to come down, he said.
“There was no real time when there wasn’t any water pouring out,” Johnson said. “It was a bit shocking.”
The cold weather also led to frozen taps in the women’s washroom on the Horseshoe Bay to Nanaimo 5:15 a.m. Monday sailing. Staff said they were working to thaw the pipes.
A posted sign directed passengers to the family washroom and accessible washroom, where faucets were working.
