Project Update - April 1, 2022

Entry of Salish Vessel to the Southern Gulf Islands Delayed Until Fall

As experienced throughout the fall and winter of 2021/22, the impact of crew shortages at BC Ferries is expected to continue through the spring and into summer. While we do not anticipate any major service disruptions for the Southern Gulf Islands this summer, crewing challenges are impacting our ability to bring a Salish vessel into service on the route, and we are anticipating a fall introduction at this time. For the spring and summer, the Mayne Queen and the Queen of Cumberland will remain on the route on the regular summer schedule as we continue to work on addressing the current crew shortfalls.

Because the Salish vessels are larger, they require more crew and we are particularly challenged with hiring licensed crew like chief officers and engineers to fill these roles. We have not been able to find enough crew for the required positions on the larger Salish vessel just yet and continue to actively recruit to fill the vacancies. We are advancing several initiatives to address the shortages including investing in internal training and advancement, implementing a significant push on recruitment, and bringing back retired employees where possible.

Contributing factors to the current crew shortages include higher than expected retirements in key shipboard positions, the impact of vaccination policies and difficulties recruiting international candidates due to COVID-19, as well as the 25-year global shortage of professional mariners. Like so many industries and other ferry service providers around the world, we find ourselves in a challenging time coming out of the pandemic.

This is a dynamic situation and our crewing teams are working very hard to fill the gaps. Please continue to check this page for updates.