B.C. Ferries Faces Fleet Crisis: E. Coli, Lead, and Breakdowns

0:00B.C. Ferries has hit some serious bumps lately with multiple ships out of service, five vessels basing potable water problems, and a close call in the inside passage. The aging fleet led to big delays over Easter weekend, and the CEO says they need more back-of-ships to handle breakdowns. Earlier this week, the Spirit of Vancouver Island went offline due to a generator issue on top of other mechanical headaches. The company pushed for a fifth new major vessel to build resiliency, but the province's ferry commissioner shot it down last April, calling it, unaffordable, and a risk to fares in debt. Folks are feeling the pinch, from frustrated travelers stuck waiting to frontline workers dealing with the chaos. B.C., conservative critic Harman Bangu called it concerning, questioning if four-proved new ships arriving starting in 2029 will keep up, with population growth. From the waterfront, tests found e-coli on two ships, lead on another, and discolored

1:00or bacteria-tainted supplies on the rest, mostly caught in, routine checks after refits. Meanwhile, that inside passage incident was just a brief course tweak for bad weather, no injuries or damage, but they reported it in our reviewing, everything, internally. B.C., Ferries plans to revisit the fifth ship idea with the commissioner this September, staying committed to tougher systems that bounce back faster when, trouble hits. Vancouver News today, powered by AI bringing you what matters. I'm Corey with The Story.