Photo: Wild Whales Vancouver / Facebook
A mechanical issue caused a whale watching boat near Bowen Island to send a distress signal and unload its passengers.
Vancouver Is Awesome spoke to Sally, a Marine Naturalist from Wild Whales Vancouver, who informed us that all of the 35 passengers and crew are safe.
"Everyone received a refund that wanted it, but guests were also allowed to reschedule the tour if they preferred," she said.
"The mechanical issue caused some smoke but it never resulted in fire. While we aren't sure what caused the issue yet, we are conducing an investigation."
Whale Watching Boat in Vancouver
The boat sent a distress call out at approximately noon on Tuesday, October 23. While the Vancouver Coast Guard loaded the passengers onto the rescue boat, a BC Ferry also responded to the call.
The Queen of the Cowichan was delayed by 25 minutes after it responded to the distress call, too. It pulled up beside the tour boat, but it was subsequently "released from responding" and carried en route to its Horseshoe Bay destination.
#BCFHeadsUp Please be aware the #QueenofCowichan is currently delayed 25 minutes as the vessel was responding to a distress call. The vessel has since been released from responding and is now continuing on to #HorseshoeBay ^gl
— BC Ferries (@BCFerries) October 23, 2018
The tours depart from Granville Island in downtown Vancouver, and allow you to observe the diverse wildlife of the Pacific Coast in their natural habitat.
