BC Ferries says the information about the waiting time of the cruise between the Gulf Tsasiblassen-Ssiblartz on Tuesday morning was incorrect.
Bc Ferries TSA Zimbassen Terminal on Monday July 25th, 2023. (Image Of Cityneambs)
After BC Ferries ‘ website said there was a nine-sail wait for the Tsasiblassen route to Ssiblartz Bay as of 6am on Tuesday, the corporation now says what was appearing online was “not accurate.”
Karen Johnston, executive director of communications and engagement for BC Ferries, admits there was a wait for most passengers, but says it was often just a wait with one to two sails.
“What we were seeing represented in the current conditions was simply not in line with what it knew was happening at the terminal.”
“When the seaside celebration was pulled from service due to a hydraulic oil leak, we increased our reservation allocations, our reservation allocations, to maximize and honor those bookings as best we could on the other three cruises. So the current conditions, which is the system that travelers can use to see what’s booked, how much space is available, assumes that once you’ve made a reservation you’ll actually show up for that reservation, so it keeps room for all reservations made until the cutoff time when you arrive at the terminal,” she explained.
“This morning, what happened was that we saw a high number of those with reservations who did not show up at the terminal for their cruise. So, what, in fact, was the situation at TSA Zimbassen was that most of our morning traffic was cleared by 11 a.m. with most of the morning passengers experiencing a one to two sailing reception. We also know that there were people who came early…there was traffic down the elevated road, but by 5:15 a.m.m.) we were able to clean it up and all those who were at 5:15 sailing coming out of TSA Zimbassen were able to board that desired cruise.”
She says that although the current conditions page may appear to show long waits — like the one seen Tuesday morning — the website “does not show an accurate picture of what is happening in the terminals.”
This is due to staff manually bypassing the site as they work to tailor the people who were scheduled to sail to the seaside celebration.
“Because we’re manually bypassing the current conditions right now and making sure that it accurately delivers information that our customers deserve and need to make their travel plans, I would say keep checking it, keep taking a look at our feed on Tantanitter because we’re doing our best behind the scenes to make sure it’s an accurate picture,” she said.
It is unclear how long the listed waiting times will be affected.
Engineer says seaside celebration can be arranged this weekend
In an interview with Cityneambs, BC Ferries engineer Stephen Jones says they are looking into the problem with the seaside celebration, but he says fixing everything depends on the complexity of the issue.
He says ferries often face challenges, but it is not often that ships are pulled out of the water.
“Maybe 99 out of 100 of these problems can be fixed with the ship in the water by the engineering teams and the engineering support we have. It is relatively rare for us to have to go to the dry dock, especially in the summer, we hate to do this, but the reality is that we have no other choice in this situation. We have to deal with the problem,” he said.
The ship has been pulled out of the water for crews to fix the problem — but it’s unclear how long these repairs will take.
Jones says the goal is for the seaside celebration to return to service this weekend, but adds that may not be the case.
“In the event of a disaster that we find that the problem is more significant than it initially appears, then obviously our next objective would be to get the ship back for the long weekend,” he said.
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At this point, it seems to be a problem with at least one push sword, however, more swords may be involved that can make things more complicated.
“Assuming this is limited to just a single blade, and it’s a relatively simple failure, if it’s something a little bit more complex and we need to go deeper or look at more than one blade in that propeller, then obviously the weekend is under threat. And in terms of where we go from there, it really remains to be seen what we find,” he said.
In a statement from Transport and Infrastructure Minister Rob Fleming says he fully understands the challenges and frustrations people are facing as they try to get on the road.
“BC Ferries staff have done their best to accommodate travellers, but the mechanical issue of Coastal Celebration could not have come at a worse time for residents, visitors and those who rely on our coastal tourism industry,” the statement said.
“I understand that BC Ferries is working quickly to repair the ship and return to service as soon as possible. I have spoken directly with the CEO about his plans to address these and other ongoing issues and what our government can do to support the corporation.”
With files by Michael Zimbilliams and James Paracy
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