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Smoke but no fire as ferry delayed

The 134 passengers travelling from the islands to Prince Rupert on the Thursday night ferry sailing got a bit of a scare when they were called to muster stations shortly after the Queen of Prince Rupert left the dock.The cause of the alarm was a coil in the control circuit of the bow thruster, which burnt out, causing a lot of smoke but no fire, said BC Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall.The incident occured at 12:10 am April 18, just three minutes after the voyage had gotten underway.Ms Marshall said the smoke was confined to the engine room area, but the passengers were mustered as a precaution.Engineers determined the cause of the smoke and ventilated the area. After a half hour delay, the ferry resumed its route to Prince Rupert, she said.The bow thruster is used in docking and is not required for most of the ferry operations, Ms Marshall said. New parts are on their way to Rupert and will be installed with no change to the ferry schedule. A tug boat has been standing by when the QPR is docking just in case it's needed.