The annus horriblus for B C Ferries Northern service continues today, with word out of the Ferry Corporation that the Queen of the North has suffered mechanical difficulties and will be pulled from service on November 19th for at least the next week as repairs to a leaking seal are made.
With the North Coast already missing one ferry and no replacement available for the Queen of the North, we effectively are left without service for the next seven days. A barge service is expected to be put in place for the Charlottes run to make sure that the transportation of goods between the mainland and the Charlottes is kept up.
The Ferry Corporation was quick to point out that the problem is a maintenance issue and not related to safety, The quick nature of that advisory no doubt has to do with the increased interest in any news coming out of B. C. Ferries these days.
The service disruption comes less than two days after the Vancouver Province published a litany of service problems involving the entire coastal fleet of the Ferry Corporation, using leaked documents to compile a log of sorts of previously unreported problems with the vessels along the coast.
With the Queen of the North now set to go out of service and passengers of the north left to their own devices for a week, expect to see more heat put on the Ferry Corporation over its service logs and operational plans for the entire fleet.
The BC Ferries Press release regarding the Queen of the North can be found below. CKNW featured the story on its 1:00 news on Tuesday listen in at their audio archive.
QPR to Drydock
Posted November 14, 2006
Starting November 19
On Sunday, November 19, the MV Queen of Prince Rupert will be temporarily removed from service to repair a leaking seal. This unscheduled repair addresses a maintenance issue and is not a safety concern.
The vessel will leave for drydock immediately following the arrival and unloading of all traffic travelling on the Port Hardy to Prince Rupert sailing that afternoon.
The Queen of Prince Rupert is expected to return to operation in time for the scheduled 1:00 pm sailing from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy sailing on Friday, November 24. Should there be a change from this date, updates will be provided.
As there is no replacement available for the Queen of Prince Rupert, service on the Inside Passage and to the Queen Charlotte Islands will be suspended while the vessel is away. Every effort is being made to contact customers with existing reservations.
A barge service will be available for commercial carriers traveling between Prince Rupert and the Queen Charlotte Islands. For details, please contact Prince Rupert Terminal at (250) 624-9627.
For updates or more information, please check online at http://www.bcferries.com/, or call Prince Rupert Terminal at (250) 624-9627, Port Hardy Terminal at (250) 949-6722, Skidegate Terminal at (250) 559-4485 or toll free 1-888-223-3779 between 7:00 am and 10:00 pm.
BC Ferries sincerely apologizes to our customers for any inconvenience as a result of this necessary maintenance.
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