Nanaimo’s new fast ferry service with service to downtown Vancouver had to cancel its inaugural sailings due to power outages which impacted over 3,800 people.
Power went out for large areas in Nanaimo at around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday, August 13th and was not restored until about 1 a.m. on Monday.
Hullo made the call to cancel a few of their sailings early on Monday ahead of their 6 a.m. scheduled sailing while they were still reeling from the power outage which cut off power to their berth.
“In light of the power outages experienced late last night that caused a loss of power to the berth and to the vessels, it is crucial to run an impact assessment across all our vessel systems to ensure the absolute safety and reliability of our operations,” Hullo said in a travel advisory statement.
The sailings which were cancelled so far were:
- Nanaimo to Vancouver
- 6 a.m. departure
- 10 a.m. departure
- Vancouver to Nanaimo
- 8 a.m. departure
“Safety and reliability remain our North Star at Hullo,” the statement said. “While we recognize the anticipation and excitement surrounding our early sailings, our commitment to ensuring an impeccably safe voyage for our passengers is unwavering.”
All passengers who had paid for their journey in advance received refunds from Hullo and the remaining sailings for the day are still scheduled to launch on time.
The new inaugural sailings will be the 4:30 p.m. departure from Nanaimo and the noon sailing from Vancouver; although, a new wind warning issued by Environment Canada may impact those sailings as well.
