BC Ferries announced that it cancelled sailings for the remainder of Sunday on one of its main ships sailing between Metro Vancouver and Vancouver Island, inconveniencing many weekend and holiday travelers.
Six sailings of the Queen of New Westminster have been halted due to propeller issues with its half-century-old ship.
The cancellations affect departures from Tsawwassen Terminal at 12 noon, 4 p.m. and 8 p.m., as well as departures from Swartz Bay Terminal at 2 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m.
BC Ferries two other ships making this circuit, the Spirit of British Columbia and Coastal Celebration, are operating normally.
But the propellor issue created longer delays and frustration for vehicular passengers.
"Sleeping. Staring into the abyss of cars," said one.
"The line moves forward and you hope for the best. I know it will be some time before 11 o' clock," said another.
BC Ferries also states that customers with reservations on cancelled sailings will be refunded their reservation fee, and they will be accommodated on the next available sailing.
"These customers need to check-in at the terminal at the check-in time for their original reserved sailing as indicated on their reservation confirmation. This allows the terminal to queue customers in the terminal in the appropriate loading order," states its release.
"We are letting customers know if they do not have a reservation and are travelling between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen with a vehicle, that both terminals will be extremely busy today and to arrive well in advance of the sailing they would like to travel on. We recommend customers travelling as foot passengers also arrive well in advance as sailing may reach passenger capacity causing sailing waits for foot passenger.
"If necessary, we will make an additional round trip at the end of the day. At this point, we are not sure which vessel will do this trip, but we will keep you posted as this information becomes available.
"We have added additional traffic flaggers at both Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay terminals to ensure traffic moves smoothly," the statement adds.
The Queen of New Westminster ship was built in 1964.
More to come on CTV News at Six
