Police incident aboard B.C. Ferries vessel at Horseshoe Bay causes hours-long delays before being resolved

A police incident aboard a B.C. Ferries vessel at Horseshoe Bay caused hours of travel disruption Sunday, affecting multiple routes before authorities said the situation had been resolved.

The West Vancouver Police Department said the incident had been cleared after more than seven hours, with officers then working to reopen the area to the public.

Incident halted vessel movements

B.C. Ferries said police and emergency crews were called to the terminal shortly after noon following an incident aboard the Queen of Surrey while it was docked at Horseshoe Bay.

Emergency responders requested that no vessels arrive or depart while the matter was being handled, forcing service interruptions across several major routes.

In a social media update earlier in the day, West Vancouver police said officers were responding to assist a member of the public and asked people to stay away from the terminal area.

Multiple routes affected

The disruption impacted sailings between Horseshoe Bay and Nanaimo, Bowen Island and the Sunshine Coast.

Service notices showed the 10:55 a.m. sailing from Nanaimo was being held away from the dock, preventing passengers from disembarking and delaying the vessel’s turnaround.

The 1:25 p.m. sailing from Horseshoe Bay was also delayed, along with departures to Bowen Island and Langdale, including the 11:55 a.m. and 12:10 p.m. sailings.

As the incident continued into the evening, the Queen of Surrey remained docked at Horseshoe Bay as of 6 p.m.

Water taxis brought in for passengers

To help move stranded foot passengers, B.C. Ferries arranged four complimentary 12-passenger water taxis beginning at 6:30 p.m. from the terminal.

The company also warned that vehicle traffic had reached capacity at both Horseshoe Bay and Langdale terminals, meaning some travellers could be turned away.

The prolonged disruption created major backups for passengers travelling between Metro Vancouver, Vancouver Island, Bowen Island and the Sunshine Coast during a busy travel period.

Latest disruption involving Queen of Surrey

The incident came amid a string of recent service issues involving the Queen of Surrey, including mechanical problems earlier in the week and further disruptions over the Easter long weekend that led to multiple cancellations.

West Vancouver police said officers remained at the scene with support from the Vancouver Police Department, marine units and Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue.

With the incident now resolved, ferry operations were expected to gradually return to normal, though delays were likely to continue as the backlog of passengers and vehicles was cleared.