BC Ferries vessel expected to remain out of service into October

BC Ferries says it will be more than a month before its Coastal Renaissance ferry returns to service.

The vessel has been docked for days now, after an issue with its motor took it out of service on Aug. 17.

In an update Tuesday, the provincial ferry provider said the Coastal Renaissance will not be back in service until October.

The ship is normally a workhorse on the route between Tsawwassen in Metro Vancouver and Duke Point in Nanaimo.

To mitigate the effects of the loss of the Coastal Renaissance's sailings, another ship – the Queen of Coquitlam – is being taken off of the route between Horseshoe Bay in Metro Vancouver and Langdale on the Sunshine Coast.

The Queen of Coquitlam will serve the Tsawwassen to Duke Point route on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, said BC Ferries CEO Nicholas Jimenez during a virtual news conference Tuesday.

"That will help mitigate – not entirely, but in part – some of the impacts associated with the Renaissance undergoing an unexpected repair," Jimenez said.

Officials said they continue to contact customers with bookings on the Coastal Renaissance to offer rebookings, refunds and vouchers for free future travel. By Thursday, they expect to be done contacting customers with bookings through the Labour Day long weekend.

"With the Queen of Coquitlam coming on this route, we've been able to protect about 3,000 bookings that otherwise would've been impacted, so we're really happy that that vessel is available on Tuesdays and Wednesdays," said Karen Tindall, the ferry provider's director of customer care, at the news conference.