A temporary repair to a cracked ballast tank will allow Spirit of Vancouver Island to remain in service until after the Thanksgiving long weekend, B.C. Ferries says.
But Coastal Renaissance, which has been tied up since Aug. 17, is not expected to be back in service on the run between Duke Point in Nanaimo and Tsawwassen until mid-December, after a $3-million motor repair and an annual refit have been completed.
With the temporary repair, Spirit of Vancouver Island will be able to continue to sail on the long weekend on the Swartz Bay-Tsawwassen route, which it shares with two other ferries.
The company anticipates the system will carry 380,000 passengers and 175,000 vehicles on a total of 3,000 sailings between Oct. 5 and Oct. 10. After that, Spirit of Vancouver Island is scheduled to go into drydock until Oct. 18, leaving two vessels on the route. No relief vessels are available, B.C. Ferries said.
The crack in the ballast tank, which helps keep the vessel stable, was discovered by ship engineers carrying out routine pre-sailing checks on Spirit of Vancouver Island, said Brian Anderson, B.C. Ferries vice-president of strategy and community engagement.
Divers carried out a temporary underwater repair, and Transport Canada has given permission for the vessel to sail through the long weekend, Anderson said.
After that, a total of 14 sailings will be removed from the route’s sailing schedule while the ferry is in drydock, he said.
As for Coastal Renaissance, Stephen Jones, B.C. Ferries executive director of engineering, said the vessel’s motor was removed on Sept. 15 and the ship was towed to Nanaimo, where it remains for now.
Its motor was shipped to Indiana for repairs, Jones said. The rotor will be replaced and its stator, a component of the motor, will be repaired.
The motor is expected to be back in B.C. in early December and the vessel’s refit is scheduled to be completed on Dec. 14. Motor repairs and the refit will take place simultaneously.
No impact to service is expected after the refit ends, said Jones. B.C. Ferries is submitting an insurance claim for the repair.
Since Coastal Renaissance is one of three Coastal-class vessels in the fleet, B.C. Ferries is concerned the motor problem could arise on the others, but testing so far has been inconclusive, Jones said.
“What we anticipate is that we will be doing extensive testing on the damaged rotor at the contractor’s to establish what exactly was the cause of the failure and that will play into how to manage the remainder of the fleet.”
Coastal Celebration, which serves the route between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen, was taken out of service for part of July, resulting in sailing cancellations at the peak of summer season. In that case, an oil leak was discovered after the vessel was in drydock at Seaspan Vancouver.
The leak was caused by a glued blade-seal o-ring being installed as opposed to a one-piece moulded o-ring, B.C. Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall said. The correct moulded o-ring was installed when the ferry returned to drydock.
“We are still trying to establish how these parts entered the supply chain,” Marshall said
All work on the propellers during the refit was done under the supervision of Schottel Marine Technologies, original manufacturer of the propellers, Marshall said. The German-based company is a sub-contractor of Vancouver Dry Dock, owned by Seaspan.
The companies are still in talks about the cost, she said.
Foot traffic is predicted to be particularly high over Thanksgiving because of post-secondary students going home for the holiday.
B.C. Ferries is warning of possible foot-passenger waits. It urges all travellers using major routes to make a reservation, since standby space will be limited.
All ticket booths will be open at major terminals, traffic-management plans are in place at all terminals to guide travellers, Anderson said, with parking ambassadors present in the lots.
