NANAIMO - A BC Ferry slammed into a loading ramp Tuesday afternoon, injuring two people and heavily damaging the Duke Point terminal's only ramp.

BC Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall said there was a warning to passengers to brace just before the impact.

"There were two injuries reported, two soft tissue injuries, one to a crew member and one to a passenger," she said. "There has been significant damage."

Many people were already in their vehicles or were waiting mid-deck to exit the ferry on foot when the crash occurred at the terminal near Nanaimo, B.C.

Marshall said the Coastal Inspiration, one of the newest ships on the ferry fleet, was slightly damaged, but the loading ramp was significantly damaged.

While foot passengers were able to get off the ferry at Duke Point, the damage to the loading ramp forced the boat to travel to a nearby Nanaimo terminal so the vehicles could unload.

There's only one dock at the terminal, so Marshall said the sailing had to be diverted to the Departure Bay terminal instead.

"We've temporarily closed our Duke Point terminal until further notice, until we can get an assessment of exactly what's wrong with the ramp and how long it's going to take to fix."

The four daily round-trip runs will be diverted to the Departure Bay terminal until the ramp is approved for use again.

This is the second hard landing in just over a month at BC Ferries.

On Nov. 18, the Queen of Coquitlam was slightly damaged when the ship hit a wing wall at the Departure Bay terminal.

"I know it is unfortunate we've had the two incidents, but we do over 500 sailings a day," Marshall said.

Marshall said BC Ferries had made 15,000 sailings in the days between those two incidents.

For the latest from The Canadian Press, scroll down The Tyee's home page or click here.