Cruise ships' delays caused by labour dispute damages Vancouver's tourism reputation, passenger says

Concern is growing about Vancouver’s reputation as a must-see tourism destination after several cruise ships were trapped in the city over the past few days due to a labour dispute.

Impacted tourists are not impressed their vacations were essentially held hostage and say the situation does not reflect well on the city.

“A lot of people come from around the world here to this ship, finally made it, and now they're stuck in port,” said Karen Bracy, a delayed passenger aboard the Celebrity Eclipse.

Two cruise ships were stuck in port Monday. They were blocked by barges left behind by striking unionized marine transportation workers for Seaspan.

The Canadian Merchant Service Guild began job action on Thursday, affecting all Seaspan tug boats.

“Vancouver is not giving a good reputation here. Why would ships come here, if they're gonna keep doing this?” questioned Bracy.

The union declined to comment on the situation.

Seaspan called the delays caused by job action “unfortunate.”

“Seaspan values its employees and the communities in which we operate and are committed to treating all employees fairly and maintaining a strong, capable workforce. We are working to resolve the issues and minimize impacts to our customers and the broader industry,” the company said in a statement to CTV News Vancouver.

 The 2,850 passenger Celebrity Eclipse was stuck in the Port of Vancouver for nearly 20 hours starting Sunday night and going into Monday afternoon.

The massive Disney Wonder was also trapped and delayed about seven hours Monday night.

CTV News has reached out to B.C’s tourism and labour ministries for comment.

A spokesperson for the Ministry of Labour responded saying the strike action is outside the jurisdiction of B.C., and falls under federal jurisdiction.

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority is responsible for maintaining the safety and efficiency of navigation through the Port of Vancouver.

“We are working with the cruise line, terminal operator Ceres, Seaspan, the Vancouver Police Department and Transport Canada toward a swift resolution of this matter,” said the authority in a statement.

Three more cruise ships are scheduled to arrive in Vancouver on Wednesday.