BC Ferries have not scheduled an abundance of extra sailings for the Easter long weekend, in large part due to vessel availability. (File photo/NanaimoNewsNOW)

By Alex Rawnsley

plan ahead

‘Reduced fleet capacity:’ limited extra Nanaimo sailings planned over Easter long weekend

Apr 16, 2025 | 5:25 AM

NANAIMO — Vessel availability will result in some extra crowded vessels in and out of the Harbour City this Easter long weekend.

BC Ferries is indicating a reduced fleet capacity due to some annual maintenance originally scheduled over the winter, but which got pushed back as a result of engine issues with some ships in their fleet.

Spokesperson Ceilidh Marlow told NanaimoNewsNOW the Queen of Surrey remains offline as a result.

“Easter is always a very busy time of year and it’s just ahead of the peak season. The Queen of Surrey is currently undergoing her annual refit, but that was delayed due to some necessary repairs to the Queen of New West and the Queen of Oak Bay…as you can imagine, it’s a bit of a domino effect.”

Marlow said “reduced fleet capacity” will mean the extra sailings added to the schedule over a long weekend won’t materialize as in the past.

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A handful of late-night sailings are planned for the Departure Bay-Horseshoe Bay route, including 10:10 p.m. trips leaving Nanaimo on Thursday, April 17, Saturday, April 19 and Monday, April 21, along with corresponding 8:05 p.m. departures from Horseshoe Bay.

Most of the Easter-specific extra sailings are scheduled for the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay route.

“We are expecting some pretty limited capacity and we definitely encourage those travelling to consider walking on as a foot passenger or making a reservation if you’re travelling with a vehicle.”

Historically, Easter doesn’t rank in the top five for busiest long weekends through the year for BC Ferries.

The company usually sees more people on board around B.C. Day, Canada Day, Labour Day, Victoria Day and the second-to-last weekend in August.

Still, it’ll be busy on board.

“We do expect this weekend to have somewhere between 15 and 25 per cent additional vehicles and between 40 and 60 per cent additional passengers compared to just a typical weekend in April.”

Information on reservations and current conditions is available on the BC Ferries website.

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