4 sailings cancelled today between Nanaimo and Vancouver due to staffing issue

Several sailings have been cancelled today between Nanaimo and Vancouver.

Four sailings will not go ahead as planned, including the 6:15 am departing Horseshoe Bay, the 8:25 am from Departure Bay, the 10:40 am from Horseshoe Bay, or the 1 pm from Departure Bay.

BC Ferries said the cancellations are due to staffing issues, a problem the company addressed in a statement yesterday.

Unplanned service disruptions are possible on all routes, but particularly on inter-island routes over the coming months due to a combination of COVID cases, regular cold and flu season, winter storms and vaccination policies.

The transportation company said that there is no single factor driving their reduced crew availability, and the global shortage of professional mariners is making it difficult to hire replacement staff.

BC Ferries added that they rely on staffing pools with crew members held in reserve, as well as cross training employees so they can deploy to other locations and overtime hours to fill gaps.

While a route may operate on a modified schedule, no route is expected to be suspended completely.

“BC Ferries thanks its customers for continuing to support the ferry system under these more trying times,” the statement continues. “The company acknowledges and thanks its employees for their willingness to work extra hours and move between positions to ensure the least number of sailings possible are affected.”