BC Ferries vessel collides with boats, dock on Bowen Island

The Bowen Island Marina private dock was damaged by a BC Ferries vessel on Feb. 2, 2025. (Credit: Darryl Deegan)

An investigation has been launched after a BC Ferries vessel collided with moored boats and a private dock on Bowen Island over the weekend.

The Queen of Capilano was departing from Snug Cove around 7:30 a.m. when the vessel “made contact with the dock and neighbouring vessels tied up at the marina,” a spokesperson told CTV News in an emailed statement.

“We are investigating whether this was due to wind conditions, a mechanical issue, or a combination of factors,” said Shiryn Sayani, senior communications advisor for BC Ferries.

No one was injured on the ferry, the dock or any of the moored vessels, according to the company.

Bowen Island Marina, which operates the dock, told CTV News it’s too early to estimate the cost of the damage, but co-owner John Bevilacqua described the incident as “minor” and said BC Ferries has been “working hard to remedy it.”

The Queen of Capilano was removed from service for several hours until it could be cleared by Transport Canada to continue operating, which happened before 7 p.m.

BC Ferries said a water taxi service was used to transport affected passengers during the outage.

An employee with Bowen Island Municipality said one boat appeared to have sustained serious damage, while the others seemed to have only been scraped.

There was no damage to the public dock operated by the municipality, the employee said.