Queen of Nanaimo ferry sailings cancelled for Monday
Southern Gulf Island travellers face long weekend waits, uncertainty
BC Ferries said Queen of Nanaimo sailings from the Lower Mainland to the Gulf Islands will be cancelled Monday as it tries to repair a problem with the aging vessel's propeller.
"Engineering is still working on the ship," spokesperson Deborah Marshall wrote Sunday in an email to CBC News.
The Queen of Nanaimo was taken out of service on Friday, while the newer Salish Eagle continued running its routes between Tsawwassen and the Gulf Islands.
Originally, BC Ferries had hoped to have the vessel back operating by Monday.
BC Ferries had to scramble to rebook passengers. On Sunday, passengers were lined up at the Village Bay terminal on Mayne Island waiting to get home from a music festival on the island.
<a href="https://twitter.com/BCFerries">@BCFerries</a> what's going on at village bay? SOS please send help. My reso is feeling pretty useless.
—@JuneKinlochKit Grauer lives part time on Galiano Island and was worried about what the cancelled sailings would mean for visitors she was trying to host on Monday
"We have both an international group of art educators and a school group coming over and we can't tell them what ferries they can take to get here," she said.
Meanwhile, BC Ferries said it is doing everything it can to restore the Queen of Nanaimo to service and apologized for the inconvenience.
Hi Colby, the <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/QofNanaimo?src=hash">#QofNanaimo</a> cxld sailings caused increased traffic to other ships -we're trying our best to get everyone home.^ef
—@BCFerriesThe Queen of Nanaimo, which can carry 160 cars and 1,004 passengers, is expected to be retired when the Salish Raven joins the Salish Eagle on the route later this summer.
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With files from Rhianna Schmunk and Matt Meuse.