U.S. ferry line 'unintentionally' flew Canadian flag upside down in B.C. waters
An American ferry company with over 65 years of service has issued a public apology for a Canadian flag gaffe over the weekend.
Black Ball Ferry Line, which provides year-round vehicle and passenger ferry service on the MV Coho between Victoria, B.C. and Port Angeles, W.A., announced that the Canadian flag was unintentionally raised upside down as the vessel approached Victoria’s Inner Harbour.
“As soon as we became aware of our mistake, it was fixed immediately so that the flag flew correctly,” said Black Ball Ferry Line of the incident that occurred on Sunday, March 23 during what is normally routine practice.
View this post on Instagram
- You might also like:
- ‘Food sucks here’: Seattle residents compare their city to Vancouver
- Elections Canada is hiring for over 200,000 jobs and some pay pretty well
- Over 50,000 Canadians say Trump should be excluded from G7 Summit in Alberta
“We sincerely apologize for any unintended disrespect or confusion this has caused,” added the Seattle-based company. We deeply value our strong connections on both sides of the water, and we have the utmost respect for the communities we serve.”
Hundreds of comments were left on Black Ball Ferry Line’s social media apology, the majority thanking the company for their quick acknowledgement of the flag faux pas.
“Thank you for recognizing the error and your clear and concise apology, no harm done,” said one commenter. “Coho is an awesome service and very much a part of Victoria’s culture.”
“Mistakes happen,” added another. “Love the Coho and I know the majority of Americans are good people and support Canada.
“I hope these attempts to divide us all will soon come to an end. I have always viewed Americans as our friends and I can’t wait till all this ridiculous nonsense is over.”
MV Coho vessel in Victoria Inner Harbour. (Black Ball Ferry Line)
A few social media users were slightly more hesitant to accept the apology outright.
“Timing’s a little on the nose,” said a user on Instagram.
“I certainly hope it was unintentional and that the crew member who did it was questioned to ensure it was unintentional on their part,” added another on Facebook.
The incident comes at a time of raised tensions between Canada and the United States, with over 50,000 Canadians signing an online petition saying that U.S. President Donald Trump should be excluded from the G7 Summit in Alberta.
Still, most of the comments left online took the incident in stride and even felt empathy for the crew of the MV Coho.
“I’m only laughing because I know you guys would never do this on purpose,” said a supporter. “And I can’t help but picture the poor crew going “Awww, jaysus, we are never gonna hear the end of this.”
Black Ball Ferry Line and the MV Coho have transported over 26 million passengers and more than seven million vehicles since it launched in 1959.