Police incident at Nanaimo BC Ferries terminal leads to lengthy sailing delays

Travellers hoping to leave Vancouver Island on a BC Ferries vessel on Friday ran into major delays.

Traffic on the Patricia Bay Highway leading to the Swartz Bay ferry terminal was backed up for kilometres as people tried to board a ferry Friday afternoon.

BC Ferries said traffic controllers and Sidney/North Saanich RCMP were at the highway to help manage the long lines.

BC Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall told CTV News that all seven ticket booths at the ferry terminal were open in an effort to get cars through.

As of early Friday afternoon, anyone with a reservation had been getting onboard ferries, even if those sailings were delayed, Marshall said.

Several sailing cancellations at BC Ferries' Duke Point ferry terminal in Nanaimo, B.C., on Friday may also have contributed to the long lines at Swartz Bay, according to BC Ferries.

POLICE INCIDENT

Friday's delays were due to a police incident at the Duke Point ferry terminal in Nanaimo on Thursday evening.

Nanaimo RCMP say they were called to the ferry terminal around 9 p.m. by BC Ferries for reports of a passenger acting erratically onboard.

The ferry had departed from Duke Point for Tsawwassen at 8:15 p.m., but the crew decided to return to Nanaimo due to the man's behavior.

When police arrived, they arrested the man and searched for a second man who was linked to the vehicle that the first had boarded on.

The second man was located Friday afternoon, according to RCMP.

BC Ferries tells CTV News that it plans to issue a travel ban for both men.

The incident also remains under review internally by the company, according to Marshall.

'CONSIDER TRAVEL ON ALTERNATIVE DAY'

Thursday night's incident led to the cancellation of four sailings between Nanaimo and Vancouver on Friday, as well as lengthy backlogs for other sailings between southern Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.

Anyone who planned to travel from Duke Point to Tsawwassen without a reservation Friday was told to "consider travel on an alternative day," BC Ferries said Friday morning.

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Meanwhile, sailings between Vancouver and Victoria were also delayed Friday.

The 6 a.m. ferry from Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay was delayed by nearly two hours, while the 7 a.m. saw a 91-minute-delay due to Thursday night's police incident, according to BC Ferries.

The sailing delays between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen continued into the afternoon.

"Our staff & crew at #Tsawwassen terminal are safely boarding as many customers as possible today following the police incident that resulted in delays and cancellations," said BC Ferries in a social media post Friday morning.

"We appreciate your patience and understanding as we work to clear the significant traffic build up."

The latest information on BC Ferries sailings can be found on the company's website.