Service between Duke Point and Tsawwassen has been hampered by engine issues aboard one of the BC Ferries vessels. (File Photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By NanaimoNewsNOW Staff

expect delays

UPDATE: Sailings resume on Nanaimo’s Duke Point to Tsawwassen route after ‘mechanical difficulty’

Jan 15, 2024 | 12:56 PM

UPDATE — Service is resuming between Duke Point and Tsawwassen.

A faulty power supply to the engine’s starter on board the Coastal Celebration was identified as the cause behind multiple cancelled sailings on Monday, Jan. 15.

Service will resume with the 4:30 p.m. departure from Duke Point and continue through to a 10:45 p.m. crossing.

The Queen of New Westminster will also provide supplemental service on the route in order to clear the backlog of vehicles.

Sailings for the remainder of the night are scheduled as follows:

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4:30 p.m. departing Duke Point
5:45 p.m. departing Tsawwassen
5:45 p.m. departing Duke Point
7:00 p.m. departing Tsawwassen
8:15 p.m. departing Duke Point
8:15 p.m. departing Tsawwassen
10:45 p.m. departing Duke Point
10:45 p.m. departing Tsawwassen

EARLIER — NANAIMO — Engine problems is interrupting ferry service between Duke Point and Tsawwassen.

BC Ferries is being forced to cancel a host of sailings between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland on Monday, Jan. 15 due to a “mechanical difficulty with the propulsion system on the Coastal Celebration”.

Earlier departures from Duke Point at 5:15 a.m. and 10:15 a.m. were initially cancelled, with the company later confirming the 3:15 p.m. crossing will also be off the schedule for Monday.

Corresponding trips from Tsawwassen to Nanaimo were also scrapped.

Supplemental service on board the Queen of New Westminster will leave Duke Point at 4:30 p.m. and 9:30 p.m.

A scheduled 8:15 p.m. departure from Duke Point remains at risk of cancellation.

Engineering crews are continuing to assess the vessel.

“Customer Care agents will be contacting travellers with bookings on the cancelled sailings to let them know if we have space available to fit them on an alternate sailing,” BC Ferries said in a service notice. “Customers that cannot be accommodated will be fully refunded.”

Engine and other issues hampered BC Ferries during the busy winter holiday season, spanning Thanksgiving and Christmas, as the Coastal Renaissance out of action for months due to a drive motor failure.

A full list of affected sailings on Monday is below:

Cancelled Sailings:
5:15 a.m. departing Duke Point
7:45 a.m. departing Tsawwassen
10:15 a.m. departing Duke Point
12:45 p.m. departing Tsawwassen
3:15 p.m. departing Duke Point
5:45 p.m. departing Tsawwassen

Supplementary Service:
2:00 p.m. departing Tsawwassen
4:30 p.m. departing Duke Point
7:00 p.m. departing Tsawwassen
9:30 p.m. departing Duke Point

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