Medical emergency turns vessel around, delays multiple sailings: BC Ferries

The Queen of Cowichan is seen in an image from the BC Ferries website.

A BC Ferries vessel turned around and sailed back to Nanaimo, B.C., because a passenger needed “immediate medical attention” on Friday afternoon.

In a statement to CTV News, officials from BC Ferries say the Queen of Cowichan’s 10:55 a.m. sailing bound for Horseshoe Bay is back on route but faced an 89-minute delay. As a result, the 1:25 p.m. sailing from Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay, the 4 p.m. sailing from Departure Bay to Horseshoe Bay, the 6:20 p.m. sailing from Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay, and the 8:30 p.m. sailing from Departure Bay to Horseshoe Bay are confirmed to be facing delays.

The provincial ferry service hasn’t confirmed new departure times for these sailings, but asks travellers to check the current conditions section on its website for the route, as well as its X account, for the most up-to-date information on the matter.

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BC Ferries says those with a reservation for affected sailings are still asked to arrive during the check-in window given with their booking email to maintain their reservations. The ferry operator further explained that reserved travellers will be staged at the terminal “ahead of standby customers and those reserved on later sailings.”

“Your patience is appreciated and we apologize for any inconvenience you may experience as a result of this delay. We wish our fellow passenger a speedy recovery,” reads the statement from BC Ferries.