The effects of police incident on a Thursday night ferry trip were felt throughout the day Friday, with eight cancelled sailings and delays of over two hours on some routes.
By Friday afternoon, passengers trying to get to Swartz Bay could be seen walking along the Pat Bay Highway, their suitcases in tow, as traffic was at a standstill for several kilometres from the terminal.
The trouble started on a Thursday sailing from Duke Point to Tsawwassen. B.C. Ferries staff concerned about two occupants of a vehicle who were “causing concern for the staff and employees” turned the Coastal Inspiration around, said Nanaimo RCMP Const. Gary O’Brien.
Police boarded the vessel when it arrived back in Nanaimo just after 9 p.m.
Only one person was in the car when they arrived. Allegedly intoxicated by drugs, he was arrested for public intoxication “for his own safety,” O’Brien said.
Police searched for the second man, but were unable to find him on the vessel.
O’Brien said police followed up on information from CCTV cameras, witness statements and taxis waiting at the ferry that the missing man may have walked off the ferry and left in a taxi.
Officers located him safe and sound about noon on Friday, and returned his vehicle — which had to be towed off the ferry, since he left with the keys — to him.
B.C. Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall said the Coastal Inspiration was held at Duke Point’s lone berth for about four hours while the police did their work, leaving the crew on shift for about 16 hours.
The other ship that operates on the run, the Coastal Renaissance, couldn’t dock and was stuck offshore, Marshall said. Crew and passengers had to remain on board for more than two hours.
There was crew fatigue on both ships, she said. “Obviously, we wanted to stand them down.”
The ripples from the incident continued to be felt Friday, with long traffic lineups at terminals, ferries arriving hours behind schedule, and cancelled sailings.
While fresh crews were brought in Friday morning, crew members involved in the incident had been scheduled to be back on duty Friday afternoon, and replacements were not available, Marshall said.
“We just don’t have the resiliency to backfill that many people,” she said, noting it takes a minimum of 33 people each to operate the two ships.
As a result of the shortage, eight sailings Friday afternoon and evening were cancelled on the Duke Point-Tsawwassen run — four in each direction.
At Tsawwassen, traffic was backed up on the causeway, blocking both ferry customers and crews coming to work, Marshall said.
Sailings on all routes of Tsawwassen — including to Swartz Bay and the Gulf Islands — were affected.
The first sailing of the day to Swartz Bay, scheduled to leave at 6 a.m. from Tsawwassen, didn’t leave until 8 a.m., Marshall said.
Delays continued through the day, leading to a backup of traffic at Swartz Bay.
At Swartz Bay on Friday afternoon, foot passengers were getting off of buses to walk about two kilometres to the terminal from McDonald Park Road.
Staffing shortages have been affecting B.C. Ferries throughout the busy summer season.
Last week, travellers on the Duke Point-Tsawwassen route faced waits of up to 12 hours for sailings in what the corporation called “peak travel,” and last weekend saw further cancellations and delays due to staffing issues.
The vessels require a specific number of crew members on board to ensure the safety of passengers in the unlikely event of an emergency and to comply with Transport Canada regulations.
According to the ferry corporation, the decision to cancel a sailing is made when it has exhausted all options to find replacement crew.
Ferry systems worldwide have been facing the same problem due to a global shortage of skilled mariners, an aging workforce as baby boomers head into retirement, and the lingering effect of the COVID-19 pandemic.
— With a file from Andrew A. Duffy
