BC Ferries has confirmed that a person was rescued after they went overboard from the ferry travelling to Duke Point to Tsawwassen late Thursday morning.
At approximately 11:30 a.m., there was a report of a person overboard from Deck 7 on the Coastal Inspiration, Deborah Marshall, executive director of public affairs with BC Ferries said.
Barry Hansen was one of the people on the sailing, he said the incident happened about halfway through the trip.
“We were on the upper car deck, in our vehicle, and we heard an announcement ‘man overboard’ and alarms started going off, and they said on the starboard side,” he said.
“We saw a flare in the water… to mark the location of the person, then they started lowering the small rescue boat.”
The vessel was on its scheduled 10:15 a.m. sailing from Duke Point to Tsawwassen at the time of the incident.
Another vessel was on scene and retrieved the man from the water. The man was then transferred from the pleasure craft to BC Ferries’ rescue boat.
The Queen of Alberni, the other vessel on the route, also stopped to provide assistance if required.
A Coast Guard vessel arrived after the rescue and the man was transferred to the Canadian Coast Guard hovercraft. The Coast Guard vessel left the area at approximately 12:10 pm.
Both the Coastal Inspiration and Queen of Alberni are running behind schedule as a result of the incident.
Hansen said BC Ferries had made an announcement that the person who went overboard was okay, and says many were impressed with how quickly he was
“Obviously glad to hear he was OK,” said Hansen.
“It was fast, the person was noticed right away, and to have that pleasure craft so close to help right away and B.C. Ferries… and the Coast Guard was there fast. It was amazing, I thought we would be out there for hours but it was amazing how quickly everything happened.”
The two ferries were delayed by just under an hour. The man appeared to not have any serious injuries to ferry staff.
#BCFHeadsUp #DukePoint – #Tsawwassen #CoastalInspiration will be delayed for the arrival of the 10:15 am due to assisting w/a marine emergency. We appreciate your patience. ^oj
— BC Ferries | Travel safe. Wear a mask. (@BCFerries) August 27, 2020
A vessel responds to a person overboard in the Georgia Strait on Aug. 27, 2020. Submitted.
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