The Transportation Safety Board is investigating after a hard landing by a ferry at the Tsawwassen terminal over the weekend.
At around 4:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 18, the Spirit of Vancouver Island “made contact with the berth,” according to BC Ferry spokesperson Deborah Marshall, as it was docking.
“Fortunately there were no injuries to any passengers or crew, however the ship did sustain some damage,” Marshal said in a statement.
#TSBMarine is gathering information to assess the April 18th striking of the dock at Tsawassen terminal, BC by the Spirit of Vancouver Island.
— TSB of Canada (@TSBCanada) April 21, 2020
The bow of the vessel was damaged by the impact, stranding passengers on board for several hours.
The hard landing led to the cancellation of the 5 p.m. sailing between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay, but BC Ferries added a 9 p.m. sailing from Tsawwassen and a 11 p.m. one from Swartz Bay.
READ MORE: BC Ferries vessel ‘sustains some damage’ after hard landing at Tsawwassen terminal
In an email on Wednesday (April 22), Marshall said there was no mechanical issue with the vessel and the incident was caused by a “misjudgment in ship handling.”
“We are conducting a full investigation into the matter including debriefs with the crew so we can understand the sequence of events and take any learnings from the incident,” Marshall said.
The Spirit of Vancouver Island is currently at the Tsawwassen terminal undergoing repairs to the steel on the bow of the vessel. BC Ferries expects the work to be complete and the ship returned to service late next week.
The Classification Society, on behalf of Transport Canada, will inspect the repairs before the vessel returns to service.
Marshall noted the berth where the incident occurred did not need any repairs, and there was no impact on the environment.
— with files from Katya Slepian
editor@northdeltareporter.com
Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter
