British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, publicly owned Canadian company. BC Ferries provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry services for coastal and island communities in the Canadian province of British Columbia. Set up in 1960 to provide a similar service to that provided by the Black Ball Line and the Canadian Pacific Railway, which were affected by job action at the time, BC Ferries has become the largest passenger ferry line in North America, operating a fleet of 41 vessels with a total passenger and crew capacity of over 27,000, serving 47 locations on the B.C. coast.
Mayne Island is a 21-square-kilometre (8.1 sq mi) island in the southern Gulf Islands chain of British Columbia. It is midway between the Lower Mainland of BC and Vancouver Island, and has a population of over 1300. Mount Parke in the south-central heart of the island is its highest peak at 255 metres.
S-class ferries are roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ferries operated by BC Ferries in British Columbia, Canada. They are the largest ferries in the BC Ferries fleet. The class comprises two ships, Spirit of British Columbia and Spirit of Vancouver Island, which were completed in 1993 and 1994 respectively. They serve the ferry route between Tsawwassen and Swartz Bay. In 2017, the class underwent conversion to a dual-fuel propulsion system that would allow them to use either marine diesel fuel or liquefied natural gas.
The C-class ferries are a class of five double-ended roll-on/roll-off ferries operated by BC Ferries in the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia, constructed between 1976 and 1981. When the vessels were first built, they were the largest ships of their kind in the world. The C-class ferries are 139.29 m (457.0 ft) long, with a car capacity of 316, and a crew and passenger capacity of 1494 persons. Each vessel's two MaK 12M551AK engines produce 11,860 HP, which provides a maximum service speed of 20.5 knots.
Coastal-class ferries, also known as the "Super-C class" are three ferries owned and operated by BC Ferries of British Columbia, Canada and were built at the Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft shipyard in Flensburg, Germany. They are the second-largest ships in the BC Ferries fleet, surpassed only by the two larger, single-ended Spirit-class ferries. At the time of their building, the three ships were the largest double-ended ferries in the world, however the record has since been surpassed.
MV Queen of Nanaimo is a Burnaby-class passenger vessel that was operated by BC Ferries from the time it entered service in 1964 until 2017. Queen of Nanaimo was used to ferry passengers and vehicles from mainland British Columbia, Canada to the islands off its coast. In 2017, the vessel was sold to Goundar Shipping Ltd. and renamed MV Lomaiviti Princess V for service in Fiji.
The V-class ferries, also known as the Victoria class, originally included seven ferries operated by BC Ferries built between 1962 and 1965. The V class were a continuation of the previous Sidney-class design with some cosmetic changes and different engines. These vessels were the backbone of service on the Tsawwassen – Swartz Bay route prior to the arrival of MV Spirit of British Columbia in 1993. Four of these vessels underwent vehicle capacity increases three times. The lead ship of the class, Queen of Victoria suffered significant damage in a collision in 1970.
MV Queen of Alberni is a C-class ferry that operates between Tsawwassen and Duke Point in British Columbia as part of the BC Ferries fleet.
MV Queen of Surrey is a double-ended C-class roll-on/roll-off ferry in the BC Ferries fleet. The ship was launched in 1980 and entered service in 1981. The ferry normally operates on BC Ferries' Horseshoe Bay to Langdale route. She is named for the city of Surrey. On May 12, 2003, Queen of Surrey suffered an engine fire that disabled the ferry in Howe Sound. No one was injured and the ship was returned to service. In 2004, the ferry was involved in a collision with a tugboat, and in 2019 she struck a fixed structure at the Langdale terminal. The 2019 crash lead to passengers being stranded on the vessel for over ten hours.
The Sidney class consisted of two roll-on/roll-off ferries, Queen of Sidney and Queen of Tsawwassen, built for the British Columbia Ferry Corporation in service from 1960 to 2008. The design for the ships was based on the ferry MV Coho with changes made to accommodate loading of vehicles through the bow of the vessel. Both vessels serviced different routes throughout their service lives.
MV Coastal Renaissance is the first of three Coastal-class ships delivered to BC Ferries. At the time of their construction, the Coastal-class ferries were the largest double-ended ferries in the world. This ship operates mainly on the Tsawwassen – Duke Point route in the peak season and on the Swartz Bay – Tsawwassen route in the low season, but can replace her sister ships on any of the major cross-Strait routes whenever they go for refits.
MV Coastal Inspiration is the second of three Coastal-class ships delivered to BC Ferries. Launched in 2007 and entering service in 2008, Coastal Inspiration operates on the Duke Point – Tsawwassen route in British Columbia. The vessel collided with the terminal at Duke Point on December 20, 2011, suffering significant damage that kept the ship in the dockyard until January 2012.
Tsawwassen is a ferry terminal and a major transportation facility in Delta, British Columbia, part of the BC Ferries system and Highway 17. Positioned less than 500 metres (1,600 ft) from the 49th parallel along the Canada–United States border, it is located at the southwestern end of a 2-kilometre (1.2 mi) causeway that juts out into the Strait of Georgia off the mainland at the community of Tsawwassen. With an approximate size of 23 hectares, it is the largest ferry terminal in North America.
Active Pass is a strait separating Galiano Island in the north and Mayne Island in the south in the southern Gulf Islands, British Columbia, Canada. It connects the Trincomali Channel in the west and the Strait of Georgia in the east. The pass stretches 5.5 km from northeast to southwest with two roughly right-angle bends, one at each end.
Spirit of Vancouver Island is an S-class ferry, part of the BC Ferries fleet. Along with MV Spirit of British Columbia, it is the largest in the BC Ferries fleet. The ship was completed in 1994 and serves the Swartz Bay – Tsawwassen route. In 2018, Spirit of Vancouver Island began a mid-life refit in Poland, where it was converted to a dual-fuel system to allow liquefied natural gas propulsion. The vessel returned to service in 2019.
MV Spirit of British Columbia is an S-class ferry, part of the BC Ferries fleet active along the British Columbia coast. It and Spirit of Vancouver Island represent the two largest ships in the fleet. The ship was completed in 1993 and serves the Tsawwassen–Swartz Bay route. In 2018, it underwent a mid-life refit that included conversion to a dual-fuel system that allows it to use either marine diesel oil or liquefied natural gas.
HMCS Moresby was an Anticosti-class minesweeper that served in the Canadian Forces from 1989 to 2000. She was named for Moresby Island, which in turn is named for Fairfax Moresby, former Commander-in-Chief of Pacific Station at Esquimalt Royal Navy Dockyard. Prior to her acquisition by Canada, Moresby served as the offshore supply vessel Joyce Tide, built by Allied Shipbuilders of Vancouver, British Columbia. Joyce Tide was acquired by the Canadian Forces for conversion to a minesweeper and as a training ship for naval reservists. With the entry into service of the Kingston-class coastal defence vessels, Moresby was sold to commercial interests, returning to her previous career. The ship was renamed several times, most recently Ramco Express in 2007.
CNAV Laymore was an auxiliary vessel of the Royal Canadian Navy and the Canadian Forces during World War II and the Cold War, converted to an oceanographic research vessel in 1966. The vessel was commissioned in 1945 as HMCS Laymore and served on the east coast of Canada. In 1946, the vessel was paid off and redesignated an naval auxiliary, given the prefix "CNAV" and transferred to the west coast. Laymore was taken out of service in 1977 and sold to private interests. Renamed Chilcotin Princess, the ship was used as a small coastal cargo vessel servicing smaller ports along the British Columbia Coast. In 1998, Chilcotin Princess was sold for use as a helicopter pad by the logging industry in British Columbia. The vessel was then brought to Namu, British Columbia, where Chilcotin Princess was left unattended.
CCGS Tanu is a fisheries patrol vessel in service with the Canadian Coast Guard. The ship was constructed in 1968 by Yarrows at their yard in Esquimalt, British Columbia and entered service the same year. Home ported at Patricia Bay, British Columbia, the ship is primarily used to carry out fisheries patrols and search and rescue missions along Canada's Pacific coast.
The Salish-class vessels are four intermediate-capacity ferries operated by BC Ferries and were built in 2016 at Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. in Gdańsk, Poland. They were the first dual-fuel powered vessels in British Columbia service, capable of using liquified natural gas or diesel oil to operate. Salish Orca entered service on the Comox–Powell River route in May 2017. Salish Eagle entered service on the Tsawwassen–Southern Gulf Islands route in June 2017. Salish Raven entered service for the Southern Gulf Islands on August 3, 2017. These vessels replaced Queen of Nanaimo and Queen of Burnaby.
Canada