New ferry service Hullo cancels sailings for second day in a row

Those looking forward to travelling on Hullo’s inaugural trips between Vancouver and Nanaimo will have to wait, as all of Tuesday’s sailings were cancelled after Monday’s schedule was also scrapped.

The most recent cancellations come “as the company notes a deliberate and measured approach to ensuring long term safety and reliability for the service,” it said in a news release issued Monday evening.

Monday was set to be the first day on the water for the new foot-passenger only service, but those plans were thwarted after a Sunday night power outage in Nanaimo, which Hullo CEO Alistair Caddick said knocked out power on the ferry berth and vessels, and forecasts from Environment Canada warning of gale force winds.

Caddick told CTV News Monday that the company would take a “deliberately conservative stance” during the early stages of the new service.

"Those conditions are the first time since our crews have been training that we've experienced those bigger waves and heavier winds," he said. "Quite frankly, we want to give our crews and our captains the time to practice and train in these kind of conditions before taking on passengers."

The company said it anticipates sailings to begin in earnest on Wednesday, and will operate on a reduced schedule for the rest of the month.

Hullo is cutting its sailings in half, not operating the first and last departures between the two cities. The new schedule is slated to depart Nanaimo at 10 a.m. and 4:30 p.m. and depart Vancouver at noon and 6:30 p.m.

The company said travellers who have reservations on the cut sailings will be contacted by customer service “to facilitate rescheduling and travel support.”