BC Ferries ‘Coastal Celebration’ headed back to dry dock, more sailings cancelled – BC | Globalnews.ca

The BC Ferries vessel, the Coastal Celebration, is once again out of commission.

The organization announced Wednesday that as of 2 p.m. all sailings on the vessel are suspended until repairs can be completed in dry dock.

BC Ferries said the vessel will go into dry dock on Monday and will hopefully be able to return to service late next week.

As a result, there will now be eight fewer sailings per day between Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay route, beginning July 20.

Any reservations on the vessel on July 19 will be accommodated on alternate sailings, BC Ferries said.

The Coastal Celebration has been experiencing issues over the past few weeks.

Two sailings were cancelled on Monday, less than two weeks after the BC Ferries vessel returned to service after repairs.

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BC Ferries said the issue affecting the vessel is an ineffective blade seal.

“The hydraulic oil leaking from the blade seal is classified as a light mineral oil,” the organization said in a statement.

“Prior to entering dry dock, the vessel will be surrounded by a containment boom. The equipment that is the source of the leak will be shut down while the vessel is waiting for repairs and a spill response teams will be closely monitoring the situation.”

BC Ferries said in the statement it is not yet able to confirm that this leak is related to the work carried out during the vessel’s recent annual refit, but a strong possibility exists.

Anyone who has a reservation on the Tsawwassen to Swartz Bay route will be contacted to let them know if there is space available to move the reservation to an alternate sailing later in the day. However, if a booking must be cancelled fares and fees will be refunded.

Customers who are travelling without a reservation should consider travelling as a foot passenger, BC Ferries said.

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