BC Ferries dealing with more mechanical concerns, loses a major vessel to repairs

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B.C. Ferries is again dealing with mechanical problems on one its ships, pulling the Coastal Renaissance out of service for repairs that are likely to take “weeks, not days,” says its chief executive.

A failure of the No. 2 drive motor led to several sailing cancellations through Thursday between Duke Point and Tsawwassen, when the vessel was replaced by the smaller Queen of Alberni.

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“This is not a simple fix,” said Nicolas Jimenez. “This is, in fact, a very complicated fix that will take an extended period of time.”

Efforts were being made to juggle resources to accommodate the demands of the Duke Point-Tsawwassen route, he said.

Jimenez said he hoped today and Saturday will bring “a better understanding of how we’re going to manage all of the customers, the more than 2,000 customers just this week that are going to be impacted.”

Anyone who has a reservation cancelled will receive an immediate refund and a voucher for free travel at another time.

“We’re obviously going to work with customers to the extent that we will be able to find them places on other sailings, but we know that that will not be possible for everybody,” Jimenez said.

One goal is to maintain the level of about 85 per cent of passengers in the ferry system using reservations and keep space for drive-up traffic because not all travel can be pre-planned, Jimenez said.

“We are also exploring the potential of whether we can offer sailings earlier in the morning or later at night.”

B.C. Ferries operates 37 vessels on 25 routes, so problems affecting the operation will come up at times, he said.

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“The issue is how do respond and how quickly do we respond, and how effectively are we working to communicate with customers, our stakeholders, the media, to do as much as we can to get people through a difficult situation?”

B.C. Ferries also cancelled sailings in July, including over Canada Day, when a refit of the Coastal Celebration was delayed. It was out of service for several days during the month, resulting in the daily loss of eight sailings between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen.

The lingering concerns that were created drew considerable attention from B.C. Ferries in advance of the B.C. Day long weekend, and travel since then had been going well.

Jimenez noted that the Renaissance is the second Coastal-class ferry to have recent issues. That class, which also includes the Coastal Inspiration, has been in service since 2008.

All ferries in the fleet are carefully maintained, he said.

“We exceed, in almost every case, the regulatory requirements for maintenance. Every vessel gets a major refit or upgrade every five years.”

Stephen Jones, executive director of engineering, said given what has been happening, all of the drive motors in the Coastal-class ferries will be inspected over the next week.

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Jimenez said he understands the public’s frustration over cancellations.

“We just hope people know that we are doing everything humanly possible to respond quickly, to respond comprehensively and to keep people hopefully within the travel plans that they made.”

With another long weekend coming up over Labour Day, Jimenez said there will be plenty of preparation aimed at keeping ferries going during what will be a busy period.

A $5-billion capital plan has been put forward by B.C. Ferries as it looks to make fleet improvements, including the replacement of vessels that have been in use since the 1960s.

jbell@timescolonist.com

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