Repair work will keep 60-year-old ferry out of service for half a year: BC Ferries
VICTORIA — The company operating British Columbia’s ferries says divers have recovered a propeller that fell off one of its vessels and triggered an oil spill earlier this week, but notes it will take six months to complete the needed repairs.
A statement from BC Ferries says the propeller from the 60 year-old Queen of New Westminster — which weighs about 4,500 kilograms — was pulled from the seabed Saturday morning after two days of recovery work.
Officials took the ferry out of service earlier this week after discovering the starboard propeller had “sheared off from its propulsion shaft.”
The incident also saw about 800 litres of light hydraulic oil spilled into surrounding waters, though BC Ferries says the type of oil leaked “disperses quickly in the marine environment” and no oil sheens have been detected.