Spirit-Of-Vi

Mechanical issues of the 'Spirit of Vancouver Island' prompted the cancellation of several sailings between Greater Victoria and Metro Vancouver on March 22, 2026, and was sidelined at the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal. Difficulty with the starboard side generator put the vessel out of service for the remainer of the day. As of noon, the following sailings were cancelled between Swartz Bay and Tsawwassen: - 7 a.m. departing Swartz Bay; - 11 a.m. departing Swartz Bay; - 1 p.m. departing Tsawwassen; - 3 p.m. departing Swartz Bay; - 5 p.m. departing Tsawwassen; - 7 p.m. departing Swartz Bay: - 9 p.m. departing Tsawwassen. The customer service of B.C. Ferries reached out to people with bookings on the cancelled sailings to inform them if they could be fit on an alternate trip or if they have to cancel. The other vessels, the 'Spirit of British Columbia', 'Coastal Renaissance' and 'Queen of New Westminster' were full or nearly full for vehicle space. Passengers could use the Tsawwassen-Duke Point (Nanaimo) route as an alternative. As soon as the problem was resolved, the vessel would resume its service. It remained stationary as of March 23.

A person fell overboard from the 'Spirit of Vancouver Island', 15 minutes after it had departed the Tsawwassen ferry terminal en route to Swartz Bay on Sep 3 at around 1 p.m. Rescue boats were deployed, and BC Ferries crew members pulled the person from the water. The 'Queen of New Westminster' also aided in the response, as well as a hovercraft of the Coastguard. A BC Ambulance Service crew, waiting at the Tsawwassen terminal, transported the person to hospital, where he was reported to be in a stable condition. The ferry reached Swartz Bay one hour late. Because of the incident, passengers have been warned to expect some delays on the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay ferry route. Report with photos: https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/bc-ferries-passenger-overboard-1.7624611

A mechanical issue of the 'Spirit of Vancouver Island' on an early sailing between Vancouver Island and the Lower Mainland on Aug 10 has led to cascading delays for several BC Ferries voyages. The 7 a.m. sailing from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen departed one hour and 38 minutes behind schedule. The delay was due to a mechanical issue with the vessel's propulsion system which has since been resolved. The 9 a.m. departing Tsawwassen, the 11 a.m. departing Swartz Bay, and the 1 p.m. departing Tsawwassen were also delayed Passengers from the ferry were eventually loaded onto the 8 a.m. sailing aboard the 'Queen of New Westminster' instead.

The 'Spirit of Vancouver Island' suffered a failure of one of its steering pumps in the Trincomali Channel, British Columbia, in pos. 48 51 01.8 N, 123 21 24.0 W, about 0,59 nautical miles southsouthwest of Collinson Point on Jan 6, 2024, at 08.05 a.m. The ferry resumed its voyage using the remaining pumps, and the crew addressed the issue once alongside at the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal in Tsawwassen.

The 'Spirit of Vancouver Islands' will be pulled from service on the Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay route to undergo repairs after the Thanksgiving long weekend, resulting in 14 cancelled sailings in October. The will be dry docked for work on its hull from Oct 10, 2023, to Oct 18. Engineers discovered a crack in a ballast tank during a routine pre-sailing check. Temporary repairs were carried out, and B.C. Ferries sought permission from Transport Canada to keep the vessel in service over the long weekend. Customers with bookings on the 14 cancelled sailings were to be contacted and accommodated.