'Mechanical difficulty' on BC Ferries vessel resolved

A mechanical issue on the Coastal Celebration that cancelled sailings on the Tsawwassen - Duke Point route Monday morning and afternoon has been resolved, BC Ferries said.

BC Ferries called off the 5:15 and 10:15 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. sailings out of Nanaimo and the 7:45 a.m. and 12:45 p.m. and 5:45 p.m. departures out of Metro Vancouver.

Service on the route will resume with the previously cancelled 5:45 p.m. sailing.

Additionally, the Queen of New Westminster—which was brought in to cover the cancelled trips—will continue providing supplementary service for the rest of the day.

BC Ferries said all remaining sailings on the route that were at risk of cancellation will run as scheduled.

The schedule for the Metro Vancouver – Nanaimo for the remainder of the day is:

• 4:30 p.m. departing Duke Point
• 5:45 p.m. departing Tsawwassen
• 5:45 p.m. departing Duke Point
• 7 p.m. departing Tsawwassen
• 8:15 p.m. departing Duke Point
• 8:15 p.m. departing Tsawwassen
• 10:45 p.m. departing Duke Point
• 10:45 p.m. departing Tsawwassen

The Coastal Celebration came back into service in late July after undergoing repairs, however BC Ferries said the mechanical problem the vessel experienced Monday is not the same one that put it out of service. “The propulsion challenges were caused by an issue of the power supply to the starter for the main engine,” BC Ferries wrote.