March 28, 2024

Engine trouble scrubs two B.C. ferry sailings

VANCOUVER – BC Ferries has cancelled two Friday morning sailings of the Queen of Oak Bay after the vessel had engine trouble while travelling between Nanaimo and the Mainland, Thursday evening.

Passenger Ryan Mackenzie says the ferry came to an abrupt stop and fire alarms began to sound as smoke seeped upward from the engine room.

There was no fire, but BC Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall confirms the 31-year-old ship had a mechanical failure after leaving Nanaimo for Horseshoe Bay in West Vancouver.

The 6:30 a.m. departure from Horseshoe Bay has been scrubbed, along with the 8:30 a.m. return sailing from Departure Bay, as the extent of the damage is investigated.

Passengers say the ferry finally made it to port, but the docking was rough and they were warned to brace for a hard landing.

The Queen of Oak Bay is the same ferry that lost its engines on approach to Horseshoe Bay in June 2005, ramming through several wharves at a nearby marina, damaging more than two dozen boats. (News1130, CKNW)

Local news from metronews.ca/vancouver

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