'Significant impact': BC Ferries says staff shortages may cause service disruptions
BC Ferries is warning of potential service disruptions across all its routes in the months to come, largely due to staff shortages.
On Monday morning, the company said that staffing was one of its main concerns, though "no single factor" is responsible for the potential disruptions.
BC Ferries says the Omicron variant of COVID-19, extreme weather, and difficulty finding experienced new staff members are all impacting service.
"It is a combination including the Omicron variant’s potential to impact employee wellness, regular cold and flu season, severe winter storms, vaccination policies that have reduced crew availability and the global shortage of professional mariners making it difficult to hire replacement staff," said BC Ferries on Monday.
The ferry operator notes that vessels must have a minimum number of crew members to sail, as per federal regulations.
"Even a small number of crew that are unavailable to sail can have a significant impact on service if replacements are challenging to find," said the company.
For instance, during recent snowstorms, some staff couldn't make it out to ferry terminals in Vancouver and Victoria, leading to sailing cancellations.
BC Ferries says that it uses staffing pools to try to fill staffing gaps, and issues overtime pay for employees who take on new sailings.
However, these contingencies do not always make up for staffing shortages, and sometimes the company needs to delay or cancel sailings.
"BC Ferries understands the importance of providing reliable ferry service, especially for ferry dependent communities and customers who use the ferry system to get to work, school, medical appointments, or to visit family and friends," said the company.
"BC Ferries will do its utmost to avoid and minimize disruption to service, even when faced with a combination of factors."
While service disruptions may occur, BC Ferries says it has no plans to suspend service entirely on any of its routes.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cargo ship had engine maintenance in port before Baltimore bridge collapse, officials say
The cargo ship that lost power and crashed into a bridge in Baltimore underwent 'routine engine maintenance' in port beforehand, the U.S. Coast Guard said Wednesday.
A Nigerian woman reviewed some tomato puree online. Now she faces jail
A Nigerian woman who wrote an online review of a can of tomato puree is facing imprisonment after its manufacturer accused her of making a “malicious allegation” that damaged its business.
Far North police 'dispatch' polar bear stalking schoolyard
Police and local hunters in an Ontario Far North First Nation community have “dispatched” a polar that was showing abnormal behaviour and treating the area as a hunting ground.
Donald Trump assails judge and his daughter after gag order in N.Y. hush-money criminal case
Donald Trump lashed out Wednesday at the New York judge who put him under a gag order that bars him from commenting publicly about witnesses, prosecutors, court staff and jurors in his upcoming hush-money criminal trial.
Families shocked after Niagara Falls hotel cancels bookings made year in advance of solar eclipse
After having the foresight to book their Niagara Falls hotel rooms more than a year in advance, several families planning to take in the solar eclipse next month were shocked to find out their reservations had been cancelled.
B.C. rescuers face 'high likelihood' of failure to reunite orphaned orca with pod
The race to reunite an orphaned orca calf that’s stuck in a shallow lagoon with a neighbouring pod has entered its fifth day, and a marine scientist says the clock is ticking.
Video shows police interrupting auto theft in progress outside Toronto home
New video footage obtained by CP24 shows the attempted theft of a vehicle in a North York driveway earlier this month that was ultimately interrupted by police.
Majority of Canadians believe in life after death: Angus Reid survey
A new survey from the Angus Reid Institute has found that a majority of Canadians believe in some form of life after death, a proportion that has held steady for decades.
MyPillow, owned by U.S. election denier Mike Lindell, formally evicted from Minnesota warehouse
A court ordered the eviction Wednesday of MyPillow from a suburban Minneapolis warehouse that it formerly used.