An ongoing crew shortage has once again forced B.C. Ferries to cancel sailings. Four sailings between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen were scratched on Sunday afternoon.
The noon and 4 p.m. sailings out of Swartz Bay were cancelled as were the 2 p.m. and 6 p.m. sailings out of Tsawwassen, all on the Coastal Renaissance.
B.C. Ferries said in a statement, “We require a specific number of crew members on board the vessel to ensure the safety of our passengers in the unlikely event of an emergency and to comply with Transport Canada regulations.”
The company’s customer service centre is getting in touch with customers to tell them their bookings were cancelled and their fees and fares will be refunded. In such cases, travel reverts to standby.
Some disgruntled passengers posted complaints Sunday on social media.
B.C. Ferries told one customer it was sorry they were affected by the cancellations.
If a sailing is cancelled, it tries to move all the customers to the next sailing. If that can’t be done, reservations are refunded.
Staff shortages leading to cancelled sailings have become common since last year on B.C. Ferries.
The company issued a notice on March 25 stating that crew shortages were expected to continue through spring and summer, impacting sailing times as well as plans to put on extra service on some routes.
It said it is not alone in facing staff shortages, pointing to Washington state, Alaska and New Zealand, which are all having difficulty hiring crew.
The situation is due to a combination of factors including retirements, a global shortage of mariners, and the difficulty in recruiting international staff because of COVID-19 and the impact of vaccination policies, it said.
Eric McNeely, president of the B.C. Ferry and Marine Workers Union, has said that B.C. Ferries has not done enough in previous years to bolster staff training and retention in preparation for retirements it is now facing.
