After the floor cleaner incident, the water on the BC Ferries ship is safe again

The water on the BC Ferries ship, the Queen of Oak Bay, is now safe to drink after a floor cleaning incident.

On Monday, May 6, a crew member accidentally poured the toxic chemical cleaner into the ship’s portable water supply, prompting the crew to shut off access.

The vessel operated throughout the day and into Tuesday evening, relying on bottled water loaded at the dock while BC Ferries waited for bacteriological testing to return.

Reet Sidhu, spokesman for the ferry company, said the water tank was flushed several times in addition to testing.

“I would absolutely not say this is a common or regular occurrence,” Sidhu said. “We made sure bottled water was immediately available, and we also brought barrels of drinking water onto the ship to help our crew with whatever they needed in the kitchen.”

At 7:30 p.m. on Tuesday, BC Ferries said the water had been deemed safe to drink and taps had been turned back on.

ALSO READ: BC Ferries aims for greater reliability by canceling summer conversions