BC Ferries cancels 6 New Year's Day sailings due to 'mechanical difficulty'

The Queen of Surrey, one of the BC Ferries vessels that serves the Horseshoe Bay - Langdale route, is seen in this photo from the BC Ferries website. (bcferries.com)

For the second day in a row, BC Ferries has cancelled sailings to and from Horseshoe Bay due to a "mechanical difficulty."

On New Year's Eve, the ferry operator cancelled two trips between Horseshoe Bay and Nanaimo's Departure Bay, one in each direction.

On New Year's Day, it was the Sunshine Coast's turn, with BC Ferries blaming "a mechanical difficulty with the vessel’s propulsion system" for half a dozen cancellations.

BC Ferries initially cancelled four sailings between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale, including the 8:40 a.m. and 10:50 a.m. departures from the Sunshine Coast, as well as the return sailings from the Lower Mainland at 9:45 a.m. and 11:55 a.m.

A water taxi was brought in to provide service for foot passengers between the two terminals, operating in "shuttle mode," according to a service notice from BC Ferries.

Late Wednesday morning, the ferry service announced that two additional sailings – departing Langdale at 1:05 p.m. and Horseshoe Bay at 2:10 p.m. – had been cancelled.

"Our teams are currently preparing a replacement vessel that is expected to enter service this afternoon," BC Ferries said in its update.

Passengers with bookings on one of the cancelled sailings will be contacted by the ferry operator's customer service centre and receive a refund, the company said.

"We appreciate your patience and apologize for any inconvenience you may experience as a result of these cancellations."