The tables were turned on two B.C. Ferries crew members doing rescue drills near the Swartz Bay terminal on Wednesday when they had to be plucked from the water.
They were performing drills from the Queen of Cumberland about 12:50 p.m. when there was a failure of a davit — a mechanism for retrieving and lowering boats.
The failure came as the rescue boat being used was being retrieved, and the vessel dropped to the water, said B.C. Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall.
“It would have fallen abruptly into the water,” she said.
She said the crew members involved were prepared.
“They were both wearing their survival suits and personal-protective equipment,” including helmets, Marshall said. “That’s our usual procedure when employees are in a rescue boat.”
A craft deployed from shore got the crew members out of the water after only a few minutes. One was injured and one wasn’t, but both were taken to hospital for assessment.
The Queen of Cumberland was taken out of service for the rest of the day, resulting in several cancelled sailings.
It will not be sailing today, either.
“We need to do an investigation into the root cause of that davit failure, and we need to replace the rescue boat,” Marshall said.
The MV Bowen Queen continues to provide service between Swartz Bay and the Southern Gulf Islands, and additional vessels might be brought in.
For more information, go to bcferries.com.
