Crew member's car crash triggered 12 sailing cancellations on Sunshine Coast: BC Ferries

Labour Day weekend rush at BC Ferries With one of the largest ships in BC Ferries fleet out of service, those without a reservation can expect delays this long weekend.

The crew shortage that led to a number of scrapped sailings in B.C.’s Sunshine Coast region this weekend was because of a car accident, BC Ferries confirmed.

Director of public affairs Deborah Marshall told CTV News that an employee was involved in a motor-vehicle accident, and the company was not able to find a replacement.

The staffing shortage resulted in 12 sailings being cancelled over the Labour Day long weekend between Saltery Bay near Powell River and Earls Cove on the Sunshine Coast—four round trips on Saturday, one round trip on Sunday and one round trip on Monday, according to BC Ferries.

The long weekend has otherwise been smooth on the major routes between the Lower Mainland and Vancouver Island—save for a near-miss on Saturday, when BC Ferries said it had cancelled two sailings on the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay route between Metro Vancouver and Greater Victoria due to a staffing shortage, only to announce half an hour later that the it had been resolved.

In a media update Monday, BC Ferries said traffic was flowing smoothly at its major terminals, with varying levels of space available for stand-by traffic on scheduled sailings.

The Labour Day long weekend is BC Ferries’ fourth busiest travel weekend of the year, behind B.C. Day, Canada Day and Thanksgiving. The ferry service said it expects to transport around 520,000 passengers and 200,000 vehicles between Aug. 31 and Sept. 5.