After three days of major delays - and repairs - the Queen of Coquitlam will return to the Langdale-Horseshoe Bay route Tuesday afternoon.
BC Ferries confirmed Tuesday morning that the Coquitlam would return for its 2:40 p.m. sailing later that day.
The Coquitlam was pulled from the Langdale-Horseshoe Bay route after experiencing mechanical issues on the 7:55 a.m. trip from Langdale Saturday morning, Aug. 17.
Passengers on the first morning sailing on Saturday reported being asked to go to the forward lounge because of smoke coming from the engine room, however the Coquitlam did arrive at the terminal on time and there was no emergency.
"There was a cylinder liner failure and the crank case over heated," said BC Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall. "There was never any fire, but there was smoke and the passengers were moved just as a precaution."
With only the Queen of Surrey running on the route for Saturday, Sunday and Monday, traffic at the Langdale ferry terminal was very busy, according to Marshall.
"We had six sailings that were over loaded on Sunday," she said. "The busiest part of the day was in the late afternoon. After the 5:30 p.m. sailing left Langdale there were more than 500 cars overloaded into the waiting lanes at the terminal. Our staff provided water to customers and tried to keep them updated as much as possible. We certainly thank our customers for their patience. It's never a good time for a mechanical breakdown, but it is even worse during a busy summer weekend."
To help clear the backlog Sunday night an additional sailing left Langdale at midnight.
Monday was also a busy day with heavy traffic, but the backlog was cleared by the end of the day.
Passengers are asked to check the website at www.bcferries.com for today's schedule.
