Ferry customers who travel to British Columbia's Gulf Islands say being stranded by BC Ferries is a common occurance.
Last Saturday, close to 50 people were left behind because the final sailing of the day didn't have enough staff to take everyone on board.
"I can understand how frustrated people were," said Kit Grauer, who lives on
She was one of the many customers stranded Saturday night when the final sailing left the dock, with enough room to carry everyone, but not enough staff or safety equipment to accomodate the number of passengers who wanted to board the ferry.
"So the boat ran empty back to Tsawwassen, that's why people were so upset,'' Grauer said.
BC ferries President David Hahn says there was no way they could have predicted the 100 per cent boost in traffic that day.
BC ferries President David Hahn says there was no way they could have predicted the 100 per cent boost in traffic that day.
BC ferries President David Hahn says there was no way they could have predicted the 100 per cent boost in traffic that day.
"We used a license that would have normally accomodated all of the traffic that was there, easily. The difference is somebody planned three individual weddings and that created an overload and nobody bothered to tell us ahead of time,'' he said.
Hahn says someone should have given BC Ferries notice.
"So somebody, either the bed and breakfast owners that get notice that there is going to be a wedding there or the wedding planners themselves, give us a heads up and we'll work to it,'' Hahn said.
But Grauer doesn't buy the wedding excuse.
"It does happen all the time - and the part that's so frustrating for the crew and for the staff at Galiano is they can't do anything about it - it's a decision that's made in Victoria by the ferry corporation,'' she said.
Tempers flared on Saturday. The RCMP had to be called in because a few angry passengers refused to leave the dock. B.C Ferry and Marine Workers' Union President Jackie Miller says safety and staffing are huge problems for BC Ferries'
"Part of a risk assessment would evaluate how much risk there is in operating on a long weekend with one vessel - the entire route not operational - and sailing under one of the lowest licenses that they can,'' she said
BC Ferries insists it doesn't have a staffing problem. But Miller disagrees.
"There has - for a very long time - been a practice of sailing at a minimum crew licensing and every once in a while they get caught -and Saturday night - they certainly got caught,'' she said.
With a report by CTV British Columbia's Reshmi Nair.
