SALISH RAVEN

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Ferry sidelined due to technical issues

In the evening of Feb 8, 2024, the 'Salish Raven' suffered a mechanical issue. As a consequence, all sailings for the remainder of the evening have been cancelled between Swartz Bay and the Southern Gulf Islands due to an oil spill on the car deck. The ship resumed sailings on Feb 9 from the Swartz Bay Terminal.

Disabled ferry towed to shore

More than 85 passengers were stranded at sea for hours on Nov 7, 2019, aboard the 'Salish Raven' off Vancouver Island. The ferry was sailing from the Southern Gulf Islands to Victoria's Swartz Bay when one of its thrusters malfunctioned just before 10 a.m. Crowds of would-be passengers were waiting to take the ship from the Victoria side before dispersing when it became clear the vessel was in trouble offshore. Most of the passengers were Gulf Islands residents and said they were coming to Vancouver Island for appointments that would now have to be rescheduled. A tug was dispatched to the scene and was able to pull the ferry ashore at 1:30 p.m., nearly four hours after it was supposed to arrive on the normally 40-minute sailing. BC Ferries staff handled the situation well, offering free food and beverages to passengers. Most of the passengers were Gulf Islands residents and were coming to Vancouver Island for appointments that would now have to be rescheduled. The disabled ferry did not hinder the departures or arrivals of other ferries in the Swartz Bay area. Maintenance crews were examining the ship in the afternoon. BC Ferries replaced the 'Salish Raven' with another vessel.

Sailings cancelled after crew member fell ill

The cancellation of the "Salish Raven"'s sailings on the Comox-Powell River route due to a staffing shortage in the night of Aug 10, 2019, left travellers scrambling for hotel accommodations. One of the crew members fell ill. Crewing did the best they could, but they couldn’t find a replacement for that person. The sick crew member holds a key position in the engineering department. The last Comox-Powell River round trip was cancelled. The ferry was scheduled to leave Comox at 7:10 p.m. and return from Powell River at 8:45 p.m. B.C. Ferries apologizes to those affected and considered requests for reimbursement from people who incurred expenses such as hotel stays. People were sleeping in their campers, in the overflow parking lot. Hotels were really booked. Some were looking for hotels in Campbell River.