Man arrested under Mental Health Act after hours-long crisis negotiations that delayed BC Ferries sailings

A police boat is seen at the Horseshoe Bay ferry terminal on Sunday, April 19.

An incident that halted ferries at the Horseshoe Bay terminal for several hours on Sunday ended with a man being apprehended under the Mental Health Act, according to police.

On Monday, the West Vancouver and Vancouver police departments provided some more details about the incident that caused BC Ferries vessels to be held at dock for about six hours.

The WVPD says officers were called to the terminal just before noon for “an incident involving an individual in distress.”

The VPD’s Emergency Response Team and Marine Unit, Royal Canadian Marine Search and Rescue and B.C. Emergency Health Services also responded to the incident.

The VPD says its ERT officers negotiated with “the distraught man” for six hours before ultimately taking him into custody, after which he was transported to hospital.

While the incident meant lengthy delays for people travelling to the Sunshine Coast, Bowen Island and Nanaimo, passengers CTV News spoke to at the scene were sympathetic to the individual’s mental health crisis and were grateful for the outcome.

“I don’t think anyone was severely hurt or injured. If the only thing we’re suffering at the end of the day is a long wait and, you know, a bit of an irritation, then that’s great,” one passenger said. “That’s the best happy ending we can wish for.”

With files from CTV News Vancouver’s Ben Miljure