Passengers aboard the Queen of Cowichan got an unexpected wildlife show Monday afternoon when a trio of humpback whales swam into Horseshoe Bay, delaying the ferry’s scheduled departure to Nanaimo.

According to BC Ferries, the 1:25 p.m. sailing to Departure Bay was held back about 11 minutes due to “unexpected marine traffic” — in this case, three humpback whales surfacing and breaching inside the terminal waters.

A video shared with CHEK News shows the whales swimming near the docked ferry, putting on an impromptu display for passengers and onlookers onshore.

The ferry departed at 1:36 p.m. once the whales safely moved on and it was scheduled to arrive in Nanaimo at 3:16 p.m.

Watch the video below:

CHEK News has reached out to BC Ferries for more information.

Encounters with humpbac

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