BC Ferries reported Wednesday evening the Coastal Inspiration was delayed on its 8:15 p.m. sailing from Tsawwassen to Nanaimo, due to a “mechanical issue.”
The ferry service stated on social media the mechanical issue delayed the ferry’s departure by 31 minutes and provided no other details. The news comes as the Coastal Renaissance remains grounded for an indefinite period due to engine problems.
BC Ferries responded to Glacier Media Thursday afternoon, calling the latest mechanical issue "minor."
BC Ferries operates three Coastal class ships, which are among the fleet’s largest vessels. All three have now experienced mechanical issues in the past four weeks, with the Coastal Renaissance being the most significant, as it’s no longer operating on its usual Tsawwassen to Nanaimo route, as of August 17. Last month the Coastal Celebration broke down on its Tsawwassen to Victoria route.
The Coastal class ships were built in Germany between 2007 and 2008. Because their warranties have expired, BC Ferries says it needs to work with the original equipment manufacturer to inspect and repair the Renaissance’s drive motor.
B.C. Ferries has set up a special priority phone queue for customers who had bookings on Coastal Renaissance to help them lock in space on alternative sailings on the two-hour route. The company has added the Queen of Coquitlam on Tuesdays and Wednesdays through August 30 but has otherwise had to cancel several sailings each day, up to Labour Day. Its fall schedule will also be limited by the ongoing repairs, which have no concrete timeline for completion.
“We do not yet have a service return date for the Coastal Renaissance as the precise nature of the repair is still being determined,” the company states on its website.
Meanwhile, the Inspiration is scheduled to complete four round trips per day. The 20.5-hour operating schedule begin at 5:15 a.m. with a sailing out of Nanaimo (Duke Point) and ends with its last departure from Tsawwassen at 10:45 p.m. The other main ship on the route is the Queen of Alberni, built in B.C. in 1976.
Mechanical problems come amid record travel, cancellations
From April 1 to June 30, BC Ferries reported that it carried a record 5.8 million passengers and 2.5 million vehicles, an increase of seven per cent and three per cent, respectively.
Compared to spring 2022, BC Ferries increased its sailings to 46,212 — a 4.9 per cent jump representing 2,160 trips.
At the same time, the corporation's cancellations are way up. Its latest quarterly statement reports a 36.5 per cent uptick in cancelled sailings, to 665 this spring from 487 over the same time last year. The company claims most of the cancellations were due to weather.
The quarterly statement says overall on-time performance went down nearly a percentage point to 81.1 per cent. On major routes, on-time performance dropped to 69.6 per cent. By comparison, in the spring of 2019, 79.8 per cent of major route sailings were on time.
Fares up with operating costs
BC Ferries took in $286.9 million in total quarterly revenue this spring, including $221.4 million from passengers and vehicles. That's an eight and 10 per cent increase, respectively, over 2022, and comes after the corporation raised fares. By comparison, in spring 2019, the company took in $246.4 million total, including $187 million from passengers and vehicles.
Offsetting the revenue bump, operating costs rose eight per cent.
“This quarter we sailed a record number of round trips and moved more people and vehicles than ever before in our history. The vast majority, 98.6 per cent, of our sailings happened as planned,” said Nicolas Jimenez, BC Ferries President and CEO, in a press release.
Jimenez said a worker shortage at the company has led to increased delays and cancellations this year.
“We’re actively hiring to address our crewing shortages, which will improve staffing resiliency and support reliable service for our customers,” he said.
