BC Ferries warns labour shortage could mean sailing schedule impacts

BC Ferries. (Shutterstock)

Ongoing labour shortages could potentially restrict BC Ferries’ ability to deliver the typical peak season frequencies and capacities over the coming spring and summer months.

The ferry corporation states that it is seeing higher than expected retirements in key shipboard positions, as well as the impact of vaccination policies, and difficulties with recruiting international candidates due to the pandemic.

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There is also a 25-year global shortage of professional mariners due to ongoing challenges with hiring skilled and a sufficient number employees, according to the ferry corporation. Crew shortages are also problematic for the ferry systems of Washington State, Alaska, New Zealand, and the BC Ministry of Transportation’s interior lake-crossing routes.

With travel and health restrictions relaxed and the pandemic seemingly turning a real corner into recovery, it is expected the forthcoming spring and summer seasons will be the busiest yet for tourism since the pandemic began.

“Over the years, BC Ferries has built up robust systems to mitigate the shortage of mariners, including staffing pools with crew held in reserve, cross-training employees so they can be redeployed from one location to another as required, and overtime pay for employees who cover gaps. Despite these mitigations, many industries are facing very significant shifts in the employment market,” reads the bulletin.

“BC Ferries thanks its customers, and in particular its staff, for continuing to support the ferry system as it builds back to pre-pandemic operations and gratefully acknowledges employees for their willingness to work extra hours and move between positions to ensure the least number of sailings possible are affected.”

The ferry corporation states various proactive measures to attract, retain, and train labour have been able to fill 600 positions required for the summer. It spends about $23 million annually on internal development and training, and undertakes a significant recruitment push.

It has even been reaching to retired employees to bring them back for the short term.

Ridership volumes on BC Ferries saw a major resurgence in the latter half of 2021. In fact, over the final three months of 2021, ridership was just 2% lower for vehicles and 14% lower for passengers compared to the same period in 2019 before the pandemic. Crew shortages were also a problem throughout 2021.

The labour shortage spans the entire economy, including the transportation sector — in public transit operations by TransLink and BC Transit, and the local port and trucking operations, for instance.

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