BC Ferries pre-emptively cancels some Tuesday sailings over storm concerns

Several ferry sailings scheduled between the Vancouver area and Victoria on Tuesday morning have been pre-emptively cancelled over concerns about an incoming storm.

BC Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall confirmed the 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. departures from both Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay will not be sailing as planned, and that the company will be monitoring conditions throughout the day.

Environment and Climate Change Canada has issued a special weather statement that "significant waves" likely to exceed "highest astronomical tide" are expected Tuesday morning.

"Large waves due to gale-force southwest winds, storm surge and seasonably high tides have the potential to produce high water levels for Tuesday," the weather agency wrote Monday. "Coastal flooding is possible along exposed shorelines, especially in low-lying areas."

The conditions forced the cancellation of two BC Ferries sailings between Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast on Monday evening.

In a service notice, the company said the Salish Orca's 7:10 p.m. departure from Little River and the 8:45 p.m. departure from Powell River were called off "to ensure the safety of our passengers and crew."

BC Ferries said its customer service centre would be reaching out to customers with reservations on the cancelled sailings.