A mechanical failure of one engine on the Queen of Oak Bay Thursday caused a series of cancellations on B.C. Ferries routes between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland.
The vessel came to halt 15 minutes out of the Departure Bay terminal on its 5 p.m. sailing to Horseshoe Bay following fire alarms and smoke reported from an engine clutch.
The vessel proceeded to Horseshoe Bay on one engine and was taken out of service.
That resulted in cancellations of the 7 p.m. sailing from Horseshoe Bay and 9 p.m. from Departure Bay Thursday and Friday’s 6:30 a.m. from Horseshoe Bay and 8:30 a.m. from Nanaimo.
The Queen of Coquitlam was pulled off the Departure Bay to Tsawwassen route to replace the Oak Bay, cancelling Friday’s 7:45 a.m. sailing from Tsawwassen and 10:15 a.m. return from Departure Bay.
Engineers were still investigating the cause of the engine failure Friday. Marshall did not expect any further cancellations on the Nanaimo routes Saturday or Sunday (Jan. 14-15).