Weekend delays in Nanaimo ferry service after vessel pulled

People planning on ferry travel to Nanaimo this weekend should expect delays, after one of three ferries sailing from West Vancouver to Nanaimo was taken out of service due to a mechanical problem.

The line of cars waiting to board the ferry from Horseshoe Bay was almost a kilometre long on Friday evening.

BC Ferrieshaspulled a ferry from the Horseshoe Bay-Langdale route to help out in Nanaimo, causing cancellations on that route in the evening.

On Friday morning, BCFerries took the Queen of Oak Bay out of service, after a mechanical problem in the ship's gearbox was detected on its 8:30 a.m. run to Horseshoe Bay.

The vessel did finish that sailing, but it may take up to seven days to repair the ship, said Deborah Marshall, the corporation's media relations director.

Passengers should expect delays in ferry service to Nanaimo over the weekend, she said.

"Our customer care centre is involved and we'll be moving customers who have reservations to other sailings, so they will be getting in touch with those customers," Marshall said.

New reservations will be suspended until the customers scheduled on the Queen of Oak Bay are sorted out, she said.

Ferry passengers are advised to check theBC Ferries website for changes in scheduled sailings.

Passengers planning on ferry travel this weekend can choose two other routes:

• The Tsawwassen-Duke Point route, from Vancouver to Nanaimo.
• The Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay route, from Vancouver to Victoria.