BC Ferries is making contingency plans as engine failure has taken a ship servicing Nanaimo-Tsawwassen out of service for a significant period of time.
Coastal Renaissance sailings were cancelled Thursday, Aug. 17, and will be cancelled for the coming weeks, too, said Nicolas Jimenez, BC Ferries president and CEO, at a press conference. The problems arise from sa国际传媒渁 failure of the No. 2 drive motor,sa国际传媒� he said.
sa国际传媒淎s we unpack the issue and work with the original equipment manufacturer to understand better these technical details, this is not a simple fix,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淭his is in fact, a very complicated fix, that will take an extended period of time that is likely to be measured in weeks, not days.sa国际传媒�
The full extent of damage should be known in the next 24 hours, Jimenez said, and plans to accommodate affected passengers are not yet finalized.
sa国际传媒淭he issues that we are working through right now is, how do we manage all of the people who are going to be impacted by this situation?sa国际传媒� he asked. sa国际传媒淲e know, for example, that theresa国际传媒檚 more than 2,000 people who would have had bookings on both the Renaissance and the possible vessels that we could use to help bring back into service to fulfill what we have to do on that contracted route. This is what we will be doing over the course of the day.sa国际传媒�
Whether any measures will be taken at Nanaimosa国际传媒檚 Departure Bay ferry terminal for potential overflow traffic, Jimenez said it is something staff will examine.
sa国际传媒淥nce we have the recovery plan in place sa国际传媒� we will absolutely be looking at whether we need additional traffic management, additional staffing, and this will also include whether wesa国际传媒檙e having earlier or later sailings that will potentially offset some of the capacity that we would see during the day if if there was fewer ships in the mix,sa国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淪o I think all of those details will definitely be part of what our emergency management team is working on.sa国际传媒�
Customers with reservations will be issued an immediate refund and a voucher for free travel at another time, said Jimenez, and BC Ferries wants to ensure some availability for stand-by travellers.
sa国际传媒淥ur goal in this is to keep the reservation levels, which are already quite high, about 85 per cent, where they are, maintain the very small percentage of availability for other customers because we know many have certain needs that cansa国际传媒檛 be planned forsa国际传媒a国际传媒� he said. sa国际传媒淲e are also exploring the potential of whether we can offer sailings earlier in the morning or later at night. All of that is being looked at.sa国际传媒�
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