BC Ferries cancelled 4 cruises between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay after a couple of ferry workers were injured during rescue drill early Friday morning, August 31.
The 4 sailings aboard Spirit of Vancouver Island which were cancelled are the 7:00 a.m and 11:00 a.m. trips from Swartz Bay and the 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. departures from Tsawwassen.
The company blamed the cancellations on an accident involving one of the vessel’s rescue boats but according to the union representing ferry workers two crew members had suffered injuries as the result of a failure with Spirit of Vancouver Island’s davit (ferry’s crane used for lowering rescue boats) that resulted in 2 crew falling into the water from significant height.
According to BC Ferries CEO Mark Collins, the company didn't know much about the state of the crew members but added that “any injury of any type is too much.”
A similar accident happened during a drill on Queen of Cumberland in April 2018.
Another accident involving a davit failure on Spirit of Vancouver occurred just over 2 months ago, but no injuries were reported.
BC Ferries, WorkSafeBC and Transportation Safety Board are due to investigate.