Multiple ferry delays after man arrested aboard vessel in Nanaimo, B.C.

DELTA, B.C. – BC Ferries has cancelled multiple sailings and delayed several others following a police incident last night aboard a ferry in Nanaimo.

It has provided no details about what happened on the Coastal Inspiration, which sails between Duke Point and Tsawwassen, but says availability of crew is a factor in the delays of eight sailings and cancellation of eight others.

RCMP Staff Sgt. Gary O’Brien in Nanaimo says police were called at about 9 p.m. Thursday about two men who were behaving erratically aboard the ferry.

He says one person was arrested and the other, who appeared to have walked off the vessel based on evidence from security cameras and statements from passengers, was found this afternoon.

O’Brien says the men in their 30s were travelling from outside the Vancouver area and appeared to be intoxicated on drugs.

Asst. Insp. James Sandberg with the Delta Police Department says officers helped with major traffic congestion at the ferry terminal in Tsawwassen this morning.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 26, 2022.