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Sailings between Descanso Bay and Nanaimo Harbour have effectively been cut in half on Thursday, July 21 as a result of a BC Ferries crew shortage. (Damon James/Island Images Photography
SERVICE INTERRUPTIONS

Crew shortage keeping Gabriola Island ferry in dock

Jul 21, 2022 | 8:49 AM

NANAIMO — Travellers to and from Gabriola Island will have fewer options Thursday.

BC Ferries said in a late-night service notice on Wednesday, July 20, they were short of the required number of crew to operate both the Island Kwigwis and Island Gwawis safely, so are being forced to keep one vessel in dock.

It means the cancellation of 18 sailings on Thursday, July 21 between Nanaimo Harbour and Descanso Bay which were to be run by the Island Gwawis.

“We require a specific number of crew members on board the vessel to ensure the safety of our passengers in the unlikely event of an emergency and to comply with Transport Canada regulations,” the service notice stated. “The decision to cancel a sailing in these circumstances is made when we have exhausted all options to find replacement crew.”

It’s the first major outage of sailings as a result of crew shortages since two vessels took over the route in April.

The following sailings are cancelled for Thursday:

Cancelled Sailings Thursday, July 21, 2022:
6:35 a.m. departing Nanaimo Harbour
7:05 a.m. departing Descanso Bay
7:35 a.m. departing Nanaimo Harbour
8:10 a.m. departing Descanso Bay
8:45 a.m. departing Nanaimo Harbour
9:20 a.m. departing Descanso Bay
9:55 a.m. departing Nanaimo Harbour
10:30 a.m. departing Descanso Bay
11:05 a.m. departing Nanaimo Harbour
11:40 a.m. departing Descanso Bay
12:55 p.m. departing Nanaimo Harbour
​​​​​​​1:30 p.m. departing Descanso Bay
2:15 p.m. departing Nanaimo Harbour
2:50 p.m. departing Descanso Bay
3:25 p.m. departing Nanaimo Harbour
​​​​​​​4:00 p.m. departing Descanso Bay
4:35 p.m. departing Nanaimo Harbour
​​​​​​​5:05 p.m. departing Descanso Bay

The Island Kwigwis will continue running on the route under the following schedule.

More information on the schedule is available on the BC Ferries website.

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