By Greg Osoba, CKTZ News, through an LJI grant from Canada-info.ca

Lengthy waits for travelers on BC Ferries’ Campbell River to Quadra Island route have been chronic for several years any time of year. Relief was to come this summer with the implementation of two vessels serving the route instead of one, increasing capacity by 80 per cent.

BC Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall says that’s now delayed until the fall, due to crew shortages caused by the pandemic, fewer international qualified mariners choosing to migrate to Canada at this time, and more staff retiring recently.

Meantime, one of the new hybrid diesel electric vessels is already in place at a berth on Quadra island, but a shortage of qualified engineers is delaying putting the ship into service.

Quadra and Cortes Island residents are frustrated with the delays. For some, medically necessary appointments on Vancouver Island or BC’s Lower Mainland are increasingly difficult to schedule. And the busy summer season almost guarantees added wait times and heightened travel uncertainty.

Top image credit: A new BC Ferries Island Class vessel awaits being put into service at a berth on Quadra Island. Photo by Greg Osoba.