B.C. ferry hits dock at terminal, disrupts service but causes no injuries

B.C. ferry hits dock at terminal, disrupts service but causes no injuries
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The Queen of Surrey sits atop a dock at the Langdale terminal on Tuesday morning after missing its approach to dock around 8 a.m. Around 285 passengers are stuck on board, with sailings between Langdale and Horseshoe Bay delayed for hours. (Justin McElroy/CBC)

The Queen of Surrey sits atop a dock at the Langdale terminal on Tuesday morning after missing its approach to dock around 8 a.m. Around 285 passengers are stuck on board, with sailings between Langdale and Horseshoe Bay delayed for hours. (Justin McElroy/CBC)

A British Columbia ferry loaded with passengers and vehicles bound for the Sunshine Coast was involved in a docking accident on Tuesday morning.

BC Ferries says in a statement no injuries to passengers or crew were reported when the Queen of Surrey hit the berth at the Langdale terminal as it was attempting to dock after arriving from Horseshoe Bay.

It says the accident caused damage to the vessel and terminal marine structures and a tug was dispatched to the scene to assist the vessel.

BC Ferries says the Queen of Surrey will be out of service until further notice, but it’s redeploying several vessels around the fleet to restore regular service on the Horseshoe Bay-Langdale route starting Wednesday morning.

It says the Queen of Coquitlam will be redeployed to the Langdale route, while the Coastal Inspiration will take over the Duke Point_Tsawwassen route and the Coastal Celebration will operate the Swartz Bay-Tsawwassen route.

As a result of these redeployments, BC Ferries says it will provide regularly scheduled service to its customers.

It adds the Queen of Cowichan and Queen of Oak Bay will provide vehicle and passenger service on the Horseshoe Bay-Langdale route Tuesday night.

“BC Ferries apologizes for the inconvenience this temporary service interruption caused its customers today,” it says.

Transportation Minister Claire Trevena says the cause of the accident is under investigation.

“What I know is the ferry had what’s described as a hard landing and ran into the dock and they are trying to get people off the ferry,” she says. “We haven’t yet had an explanation of just why they ran into the dock.”

The Environment Ministry says in a statement it’s aware of the incident and is working with the coast guard and BC Ferries to determine if there were any environmental impacts.

The ministry says BC Ferries has reported that there were no spills as a result of the incident and the Western Canada Marine Response Corporation is on scene assisting with towing the ferry to a safer area.

With files from The Canadian Press

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