Mechanical Issues Temporarily Remove BC Ferries Vessel from Service

By Mark Edward Nero

BC Ferries, the contractor responsible for the delivery ferry service along coastal British Columbia, is temporarily removing one of its vessels from service due to mechanical issues.

Queen of Burnaby is being temporarily removed from service on the Comox – Powell River route to repair a propeller hub. The vessel is scheduled to enter a dry-docking Wednesday, Feb. 8 and is expected to return to service within a week.

The M/V Island Sky, which usually sails between Earls Cove and Saltery Bay, is being redeployed to the Comox – Powell River route to replace the Queen of Burnaby on the evening of Feb. 7, and the regular schedule is to remain in effect on this route beginning the morning of Feb. 8.

The Bowen Queen will assume service on the Earls Cove – Saltery Bay route on Feb. 8, as well. Since the capacity of the Bowen Queen is lower than that of the M/V Island Sky, an additional round-trip is being added to the schedule from Friday, Feb. 10 through to Monday, Feb. 13. This will include a 1:50 pm sailing from Saltery Bay and a 2:50 pm sailing from Earls Cove.

BC Ferries has said that once the repairs are complete on the Queen of Burnaby, that vessel and the M/V Island Sky will resume service on their regular routes.

BC Ferry Coming Back Into Service

By Mark Edward Nero

The 50-year-old ferry Queen of Burnaby will be back on the Comox-Powell River route beginning Jan. 27, according to transport service provider BC Ferries, following repairs to the propeller hub.

The vessel was removed from service on Jan. 6 due to the mechanical issues.

With the Queen of Burnaby back in service, the ferry Island Sky will return to the Earls Cove-Saltery Bay route and North Island Princess will return to the Powell River-Texada Island route, according to BC Ferries, with regular schedules for all three routes back in effect Jan 27.

“Although the schedule changes and disruption in service were not ideal, we are pleased the ship could get back to regular service in just a few weeks,” BC Ferries’ Vice President of Customer Services Corrine Storey said in a statement.

Queen of Burnaby is now 50-plus years old and is expected to be retired later in 2016. A new $84 million vessel, Salish Orca, is currently under construction and should replace Queen of Burnaby by the end of this year, according to BC Ferries.

BC Ferries, under contract to the Province of British Columbia, is the service provider responsible for the delivery of safe, efficient and dependable ferry service along coastal BC.

In recent years, the company has invested $30 million to upgrade and rebuild the berths at Little River and Powell River, and over $2 million in upgrades at Saltery Bay and Earls Cove terminals.