Spring break breakdowns and bigger questions at BC Ferries

E. coli on two vessels. Lead concerns on another vessel. Mechanical breakdowns during spring break and the Easter long weekend. This isn’t bad luck; it’s a pattern.

Last week, BC Ferries confirmed E. coli and coliform in potable water on the Queen of Alberni and Salish Orca. This week, it issued a notice about lead in drinking water on the Salish Raven.

In the case of the E. coli detection, BC Ferries took steps to contain the issue. Potable water taps were shut off. Food service shut down. Follow-up testing cleared the systems and, thankfully, no illnesses were reported.

That’s what should happen. But communication matters just as much. Passengers weren’t broadly notified. Some only found out after the fact. A simple service alert or public notice would’ve made a difference. People could’ve brought water, packed food or chosen a different sailing. People with health conditions could have taken steps to limit their exposure.

In another blow for reliability, the Spirit of Vancouver Island was out of service during spring break due to mechanical issues, returned to service, and then on March 31 suffered another generator failure, forcing passengers to disembark.

We’re seeing the impact of maintenance not keeping pace with demand and the age of the fleet. You can only push vessels this hard for so long before reliability starts to suffer. BC Ferries is carrying record numbers of passengers and vehicles, but planning, maintenance and long-term decisions haven’t kept up.

Our engineering and maintenance crews are doing everything they can to keep vessels running. There’s a lot of quiet heroism behind the scenes. But we can’t fix problems that should have been prevented without resources. In short: crews are doing their jobs. But is leadership?

With responsibility for BC Ferries spread across multiple decision-makers, it’s not always clear who’s accountable for poor planning and structural failures. In the end, it’s crews and passengers who feel the impact. Delays and cancellations don’t just inconvenience people, they affect work, medical travel and daily life in coastal communities. A system this critical needs clear accountability.

BC Ferries is expected to act like a private business and a public service at the same time. In that set-up, cost-control tends to win out against reliability. When you’re managing a complex public transportation system year-to-year instead of building for the long term, there’s no slack, no redundancy and when things go wrong they cascade fast. Crews are holding this system together. Leadership is letting it fall apart.