British ColumbiaThe latest incident comes after a person went overboard on Wednesday afternoon on the 1 p.m. PT sailing on the same route, headed the opposite direction. ‘Having one incident like this is unusual, and two in such a short time frame is rare,’ B.C. Ferries saysCourtney Dickson · CBC News · Posted: Sep 05, 2025 12:41 PM EDT | Last Updated: 11 hours agoA person went overboard off the Spirit of British Columbia, pictured in this archival photo, on Thursday evening. (B.C. Ferries)A passenger on a B.C. Ferries vessel travelling from Swartz Bay to Tsawwassen went overboard on Thursday evening — in the second instance of a passenger going overboard this week. A B.C. Ferries spokesperson confirmed the person went overboard on the 5 p.m. PT sailing between Victoria and Vancouver on the Spirit of British Columbia. The B.C. Ferry & Marine Workers’ Union provincial president, Eric McNeely, said it happened just east of Active Pass, a channel between Mayne and Galiano islands. A rescue boat was deployed and found the individual, who was then transferred to a Canadian Coast Guard boat, the ferry service said. B.C. Ferries was unable to provide any information as to the health of the individual. This comes after a person went overboard on Wednesday afternoon on the 1 p.m. PT sailing on the same route, near the Tsawwassen terminal, according to McNeely. B.C. Ferries rescuers are seen in a rescue boat on Wednesday afternoon after a person went overboard. Another passenger went overboard on the same route, but in the opposite direction, on Thursday. (Submitted by Jared Fitschen)”Having one incident like this is unusual, and two in such a short time frame is rare,” B.C. Ferries spokesperson Sonia Lowe said. B.C. Ferries said both incidents are under investigation.McNeely said that in the first incident, a passenger went into the water to retrieve an article of clothing that they’d lost in the water.He said he hopes the pair of overboard events were a coincidence and not intentional. In its statement to CBC News, the ferry service noted that going overboard on purpose is “extremely dangerous.””It creates a life-threatening emergency for the individual involved and puts our crews at risk,” Lowe said. “To protect everyone’s safety, actions like this may also lead to consequences such as travel restrictions, fines, or legal proceedings, depending on the circumstances.”McNeely said both incidents highlight the training ferry workers have to keep people safe on the water. “It’s just another piece of the job that not everyone thinks about when they travel on B.C. Ferries.”ABOUT THE AUTHORCourtney Dickson is an award-winning journalist based in Vancouver, B.C.
2nd B.C. Ferries passenger in 2 days goes overboard on Tsawwassen-Swartz Bay route
