World News – CA – BC Ferries cancels most of its trips before an “extreme” storm

Sheila Scott
Multiqued Journalist, CTV News Vancouver

@ Sheila_Scott
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VANCOUVER –
Dozens of BC Ferries trips were canceled before a storm slated to hit the south coast on Tuesday afternoon

BC Ferries issued a travel advisory Monday night calling the incoming storm an “extreme weather system” “

During the 7 and 9 am the crossings between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay are scheduled for Tuesday The remainder of the late morning and afternoon crossings were canceled

BC Ferries is hoping to resume service on the route in both directions by 7pm

There are also significant cancellations between Horseshoe Bay and Departure Bay, with crossings expected on the final morning at 8:25 a.m. Crossings on this route are not expected to be scheduled until 8:25 p.m.Picked up again at 45:00 from Departure Bay and at 10:10 from Horseshoe Bay

Deborah Marshall with BC. According to Ferries, the decision to preventively cancel many of the trips was made on Monday evening in the hopes of informing passengers in good time

“It is in the interests of safety,” Marshall said. “We may have situations where we can damage the ships while we are docking or undocking, and the journey can be extremely uncomfortable for customers in high wind situations”

Passenger traffic is still declining significantly, according to Marshall, and people are being encouraged to travel for only essential reasons.She says there has been a significant reduction in vacation travel, with mainline vehicle traffic falling by about 60 percent and passenger traffic falling by about 70 percent

The Tsawwassen Terminal remained quiet Tuesday, with most of the commercial vehicle traffic waiting for crossings to resume

Environment Canada has issued a wind warning for Metro Vancouver, including Surrey, Langley, Richmond and Delta

The North Shore, Coquitlam and Maple Ridge could see up to 60 millimeters of rain by Tuesday evening

BC Ferries