BC Ferries is still recovering from an overnight windstorm that whipped across the South Coast Monday night.
All evening sailings were cancelled on the major routes. While they were back in service Tuesday morning, a significant backlog remained.
The popular Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay route had a four sailing wait before the sun came up, forcing those without reservations to wait until the afternoon to depart.
BC Ferries is reminding passengers to check the current conditions on its website before heading to a terminal.
Monday’s cancellations were set in place as winds of up to 90 km/h tore through the region.
Environment Canada ended wind warnings issued for Metro Vancouver Tuesday morning, but the damage was already done, with passengers reporting waiting hours to catch a sailing.
“Severe weather adds further strain to an already busy system, and when sailings are cancelled, the limited number of available crossings makes it even more difficult to accommodate everyone who needs to travel,” wrote BC Ferries.
BC Ferries says the decision was made to ensure the safety of its customers and crew.
The company says that with the Queen of New Westminster out of service since September for complex repairs, it has done everything it can to make the most of the capacity it has.
It argued that demand keeps growing, and its fleet hasn’t meaningfully expanded in nearly 30 years. The strain is pushing the BC Ferries Commissioner to build five New Major Vessels, the company said.
“With B.C.’s population growing and ferry demand rising, our preferred plan is to build five and extend the life of two older vessels, adding a net new ship to help keep up with demand and improve system resiliency when a vessel is out of service,” it wrote.
