Expect delays: BC Ferries warns busy Thanksgiving weekend ahead

A BC Ferries vessel is seen from the air in 2019. (Pete Cline / CTV News Vancouver)

Victoria -

Ferry travellers to and from Vancouver Island should expect delays this holiday weekend as a combination of increased traffic and a broken vessel will make for rough sailing ahead.

The BC Ferries vessel Spirit of Vancouver Island is in for repairs after a broken gearbox was discovered last week, removing the vessel from the busy Swartz Bay-Tsawwassen route.

The ferry service says it is redeploying the smaller Coastal Renaissance vessel to pick up the slack along the route until further notice.

The substitution will limit passenger capacity on one of the four ships serving Swartz Bay-Tsawwassen.

That substitution, coupled with anticipated increases in Thanksgiving traffic, has BC Ferries asking travellers to consider alternate routes between Vancouver Island and the B.C. mainland, such as Tsawwassen-Duke Point or Horseshoe Bay-Departure Bay routes.

Customers should also book ahead to ensure they can secure a spot on a sailing. Customers without bookings should prepare for multiple-sailing waits.

On Wednesday afternoon, reservations for the Swartz Bay-Tsawwassen route were almost sold out for Friday sailings.

A modified route schedule for Swartz Bay-Tsawwassen is available here.

Travellers are advised to check the latest ferry service updates on the BC Ferries website.