After nearly three months in dry-dock and $3 million in repairs, the Queen of Surrey will be back in service between Horseshoe Bay and Langdale on Thursday.
"She had her last session of sea trials yesterday. They went out for several hours yesterday and they were very successful so engineering has now deemed vessel clear to sail and put it back into operation, said Deborah Marshall, B.C. Ferries' director of media relations.
Marshall said the Surrey's return will allow B.C. Ferries to go back to its originally planned summer schedule, which will include 5:50 p.m. commuter sailings from Horseshoe Bay on Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
Commuters from the Sunshine Coast and the Ferry Advisory Committee (FAC) have long-lobbied for a daily evening sailing to coincide with the end of the workday. B.C. Ferries agreed in May to an FAC proposed trial schedule that would involve some vessel swapping and earlier sailings at the end of the day to keep those daily commuter sailings throughout the summer at no extra cost to ferry riders.
Marshall said that trial can now continue, albeit for a shorter time.
"It's going to be an abbreviated trial, but I think even with four or five weeks, that's going to give us a good indication and the customers a good indication as to whether it's working," she said.
She said B.C. Ferries has been receiving complaints from commuters about the cancelled evening sailings in the meantime.
"I know when we had to make the announcement back in June, obviously, the commuters were disappointed because we worked really hard with the Ferry Advisory Committee to come up with the solution," said Marshall.
The Surrey was taken out of service after mechanical problems lead to a seized engine on May 4.
Editor's note: for more on the story, see our print edition on Friday and on-line on Friday.
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