Hullo Ferries disrupted again by sailing cancellations on Wednesday

A Hullo Ferries vessel docked at the Nanaimo terminal, during the cancellation of the remaining sailings on August 16, 2023. (Kenneth Chan/Daily Hive)

After complete sailing cancellations on Monday and Tuesday, Hullo Ferries made its first successful sailings on the third day of operations on the morning and early afternoon of Wednesday, with sailings that were smooth and on-time.

The inaugural sailing from downtown Nanaimo left at 10 am and arrived in downtown Vancouver at 11:15 am without issue. The second sailing from downtown Vancouver left at noon as scheduled, and arrived in downtown Nanaimo at about 1:15 pm, following the estimated 75-minute, end-to-end travel time.

But the latter two sailings of the day were again mired by last-minute cancellations.

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As part of its coverage of the service’s inaugural day, Daily Hive Urbanized was onboard the 4:30 pm return sailing to Vancouver. Over the public address system, passengers were informed that there was a “technical issue” at least twice.

Over 40 minutes into the delay, just after 5:10 pm, the crew informed passengers that a difficult decision had been made to cancel the sailing due to the inability to address the issue. Passengers were provided with snacks and drinks.

With the cancellation of the 4:30 pm sailing from Nanaimo, it also means the 6:30 pm sailing from Vancouver is now cancelled, as it uses the same vessel, and both vessels are currently berthed at their terminal facility in the Port of Nanaimo.

Although a wind warning was in effect at the time, that was not the reason for the round of cancellations. Hullo Ferries told Daily Hive Urbanized there was a mechanical issue with the ferry, and they did not have enough time to mobilize their second vessel as a replacement for performing the trips. Crews worked overnight to repair and replace parts on both vessels.

The cancellations on Monday and Tuesday were initially due to a city power outage, and then a wind warning of up to about 33 knots (61 km/hr).

Passengers on the cancelled 4:30 pm sailing from Nanaimo to Vancouver were assisted by Hullo Ferries’ crew, with the ferry company arranging the transportation to get passengers to their next destination, and cover any associated costs.

For the inconvenience, passengers were informed they will automatically receive a full refund, and be provided with a voucher for a free sailing in the future.

Passengers disembarking the Hullo Ferries vessel moments after being informed of the decision to cancel the sailing.

Crew and even the owners personally assisted passengers to get to their next destination, covering costs.https://t.co/KwLpoyN3LR pic.twitter.com/JvSHxcT7Cc

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) August 17, 2023

Onboard BC Ferries’ 6:15 pm sailing from Nanaimo to West Vancouver, Gale, a passenger visiting from Calgary, told Daily Hive Urbanized one of the owners of Hullo Ferries used his own car to personally drive impacted passengers to the Departure Bay terminal. She was amongst those passengers.

She said the car ride was “very pleasant” and that “there was no agitation or disagreeable conversation” amongst the passengers in the vehicle.

“He was very nice. He explained to us that we would have a refund and a voucher for a free sailing. He could only have so much responsibility. He can’t fix whatever nut was missing from the bolt or whatever the situation is.”

Would she try it again? She said, yes, but with conditions.

“I would try it again, but I would definitely wait until there’s a history of successful sailings because they definitely have some kinks to work out,” added Gale.

At the time of writing, the operational status for Hullo Ferries’ sailings on Thursday is unknown.

Following the first cancellations earlier this week, Hullo Ferries implemented a temporarily reduced schedule of four sailings (two roundtrips) per day through August 30 — daily sailings of 10 am and 4:30 pm leaving Nanaimo, and 12 pm and 6:30 pm leaving Vancouver. The intention is to reinstate four early and late sailings starting on August 31 for a total of eight sailings (two roundtrips) per day.

For the time being during this two-week-long soft-launch period through August 30, Hullo Ferries is also operating at a reduced capacity of about 80% — filling up to 290 of its 350-seat capacity.

There were 189 passengers for today’s first sailing from Nanaimo, and 115 passengers for the first sailing from Vancouver.

Daily Hive Urbanized will have more coverage on Wednesday’s inaugural day of Hullo Ferries’ services on Thursday.

At 11:20 am today, Hullo Ferries docked at its Coal Harbour terminal in downtown Vancouver.

Arriving from Nanaimo, this marks the high-speed ferry service’s first-ever successful sailing. pic.twitter.com/ZiclKCFjZs

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) August 16, 2023

Hullo Ferries’ first passengers disembarking at downtown Vancouver this morning. pic.twitter.com/9nl82ppqjn

— Kenneth Chan (@iamkennethchan) August 16, 2023

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Editor’s note: This article has been edited to include the official reason for the cancellations.