High winds force BC Ferries to cancel several sailings along major routes Thursday

Due to increasing winds on Thursday, April 20th, BC Ferries has been forced to cancel multiple sailings along major routes.

Environment Canada issued a wind warning early on Thursday morning which predicted gusts of 70 km/h to 90 km/h for the Greater Victoria, Southern Gulf Islands and Haro Strait regions. 

BC Ferries traverse the Haro Strait on many of their major routes,  and have been affected by the high gusting winds.  

As of this publication, all sailings between Victoria (Swartz Bay) and Vancouver (Tsawwassen) have been cancelled from 11 a.m. onward. The next scheduled sailing would be for 3 p.m. and BC Ferries has not yet announced whether or not it will also be scratched. 

In addition to these cancellations which have already disrupted several hundred ferry commuters, Nanaimo (Duke Point) to Vancouver (Tsawwassen) has been cancelled from 10:15 a.m. onward, with the next potential sailing to depart at 3:15. BC Ferries has not yet announced whether that sailing would be impacted by the high winds. 

“Our Customer Service Centre will contact customers with bookings on these cancelled sailings to let them know if we have space available to fit them on an alternate sailing later in the day, or if their booking must be cancelled,” said a BC Ferries spokesperson in a travel advisory. 

“Please be advised that Swartz Bay terminal has reached its capacity for standby customers for today.”

“Customers with reservations are asked to check-in according to the check-in times noted in the confirmation email.”

According to Environment Canada, these high gusting winds will persist throughout Thursday, not easing off until the evening. 

Current conditions for all BC Ferries routes, including their sailing status, can be found on their website.