For the second time in a year, a B.C. Ferries vessel will not be sailing through Active Pass for close to a month.
The change, which will add 15 minutes to Coastal Celebration’s journey between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen, is because of problems with the drive motor rotors on the Coastal-class vessels, B.C. Ferries said Thursday.
The new route via East Point, south of Active Pass, will be in effect from Sunday through Nov. 26. Sailings on the vessel will take an hour and 50 minutes instead of an hour and 35 minutes.
The decision to avoid narrow and busy Active Pass was made out of “an abundance of caution,” the ferry corporation said.
“While the vessel is safe to operate, we are taking action as a precautionary safety measure to guard against the unlikely event of a propulsion failure in the confined waters of Active Pass,” B.C. Ferries said in a statement. “B.C. Ferries knows customers’ time is valuable and apologizes for any inconvenience this may cause.”
B.C. Ferries said that after Coastal Renaissance had a mechanical issue with its drive motor, engineers conducted inspections and determined that all drive-motor rotors on its Coastal-class ships should be replaced due to wear, in advance of next year’s peak season.
Each ferry has two drive motors.
The rotor replacements will be done under an insurance claim, B.C. Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall said.
Since Aug. 17 Coastal Renaissance has been tied up in Nanaimo and its motor has been shipped to Indiana for repairs.
The motor is expected to be back in B.C. in early December and the vessel’s refit is scheduled to be completed on Dec. 14, allowing the vessel, with new rotors, to return to service for the busy holiday season.
Coastal Celebration’s rotors will be changed out in March of next year, Marshall said.
This is the second time that Coastal Celebration has been rerouted to avoid Active Pass. It detoured in October of last year, also because of a drive-motor issue.
Coastal Celebration is currently one of the extra vessels on the Swartz Bay-Tsawwassen route, and regularly scheduled vessels will continue to sail as usual from 7 a.m. to 9 p.m.
One of Coastal Inspiration’s rotors was changed out last year and the other will be changed in early 2024, Marshall said.
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