Long-weekend travellers heading to Vancouver Island without a reservation faced sailing waits on Friday.
A vehicle fire at the Tsawwassen ferry terminal on Friday has caused sailing delays on the Swartz Bay-Tsawwassen B.C. Ferries route on an already busy long weekend.
B.C. Ferries said the 5 p.m. sailing Friday from Tsawwassen (Vancouver) to Swartz Bay (Victoria) departed 35 minutes behind schedule.
The 7 p.m. sailing from Swartz Bay and the 9 p.m. sailing from Tsawwassen were also expected to be behind schedule.
Major routes between Vancouver Island and the mainland are expected to be at or near capacity at peak times this weekend, said B.C. Ferries spokesperson Lilian Kim.
Sailings from Tsawwassen to Duke Point were all listed as full from 11:30 a.m. onward on Friday morning, while those travelling on the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay route without a reservation faced a six-sailing wait Friday morning.
Sailings from Vancouver Island to the mainland were showing a small amount of space on the site.
Those without reservations who have to travel are encouraged to consider going as walk-on passengers, and not bringing a vehicle, Kim said.
“Depending on when you arrive, there may be limited or no space available for drive-up vehicles,” the ferry corporation said in a statement.
On Saturday, Sunday and Monday, the busiest sailing times are expected to be morning and early afternoon, B.C. Ferries said.
Kim said the weekend is expected to be as busy as last year’s, when major routes carried about 130,000 vehicles and more than 400,000 passengers.
She said a mechanical issue with a grease-trap valve on the Spirit of Vancouver Island on Thursday led to evening sailing delays between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen.
The 5:45 p.m. Friday sailing from Tsawwassen to Duke Point in Nanaimo was also running behind schedule, departing 48 minutes late. B.C. Ferries cited berth congestion at the Tsawwassen terminal and the heavy volume of traffic.
The 8:15 p.m. departing Duke Point and the 10:45 p.m. departing Tsawwassen sailings were also expected to be delayed.