BC Ferries’ Coastal Inspiration underwent sea trials today in preparation for its return to service and it has been determined one more day of testing is required. As a result, the vessel will not return to service June 29 as planned, which will impact the timing of extra sailings on the Horseshoe Bay – Departure Bay route and the number of extra sailings on the Horseshoe Bay – Langdale route on that day.
“The reliability of our service is of utmost importance for our customers and we want to ensure the Coastal Inspiration is totally ready for summer schedule,” said Mark Collins, BC Ferries’ President and CEO.
Coastal Inspiration will undergo testing at least until the end of the operational day on June 29. BC Ferries will provide an update by midday tomorrow on the plan for the ship to re-enter service.
Core service on the two major Horseshoe Bay routes is unaffected. Two major vessels continue to provide regular service on the Horseshoe Bay – Departure Bay route and another major vessel continues to provide regular service between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale. It’s only the extra sailings that are affected. Three extra round trips will be provided on the Departure Bay route, however the timing of the sailings will be amended for June 29. For the Langdale route, two of the planned four extra round trips can be provided on that day.
“This is certainly not the way we intended to start our peak season and we apologize to our customers for any inconvenience. We are working hard and as quickly as possible to ensure Coastal Inspiration will be completely reliable when it returns to service,” added Collins. Extra crew will be on the vessels and at the terminals to assist customers. The Customer Care Centre and social media hours have been extended until 9:00 pm.
Extra staff will be on hand to manage call volume for customers wishing to call the call centre for information. Entertainment will be provided at the major terminals.