A breakdown due to a fuel oil cooler was something out of the ordinary for the North Island Princess, said BC Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall.
The oldest vessel in the fleet, which runs between Texada Island and Westview, broke down on Saturday, July 2, and service had to be temporarily suspended, said Marshall.
“Temporary repairs were made and we had a tugboat on standby in case they needed it,” she said.
A water-taxi service was brought in, but vehicle traffic was interrupted by the breakdown.
“Certainly, the engineers work hard to maintain it, but it is a 58-year-old vessel,” she added. “We do look forward to replacing her.”
The aging ship has had a number of mechanical and electrical problems over past months, but Marshall said the majority of the problems have been electrical.
In January, the vessel, which was tasked to cover the route between Saltery Bay and Earls Cove while the Queen of Burnaby was out for repairs, also broke down with generator malfunctions, severing traffic across Jervis Inlet for a weekend.
The vessel is scheduled to be replaced in 2019, but in the interim Marshall said BC Ferries has brought in a back-up generator to its Westview terminal as a precaution. She said it would take up space on the vehicle deck if it was stored on the vessel.
“In the event that we do experience an electrical problem,” she said, “we could have it on board within an hour.”
