MV Queen of Prince Rupert

Last updated
MV Queen of Prince Rupert in September 2008.jpg
Queen of Prince Rupert at dock in Prince Rupert, 2007
History
NameQueen of Prince Rupert
Owner British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.
Operator British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.
Port of registry Flag of Canada (Pantone).svg Victoria, Canada
Route Prince Rupert–Skidegate, Prince Rupert-Port Hardy
Builder Victoria Machinery Depot Co. Ltd
Cost$6–7 million
Laid downNovember 30, 1964
LaunchedOctober 15, 1965
ChristenedOctober 15, 1965
Completed1966
Out of serviceApril 20, 2009
Identification
FateSold to Goundar Shipping Company, Fiji, 2011
General characteristics
Tonnage5,864 ton
Length101.15 m (332 ft)
Installed power7,680  hp (5.73 MW)
PropulsionFour Mirrlees KLSSMR8
Speed18.0  kn (33.3 km/h)
Capacity
  • 544 (passengers and crew)
  • 80 vehicles

MV Queen of Prince Rupert was a roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ferry operated by BC Ferries that provided the main surface transport link between the Queen Charlotte Islands and mainland British Columbia, connecting Skidegate with Prince Rupert across the Hecate Strait (thus linking two segments of Highway 16). The vessel also ran on the Prince Rupert-Port Hardy Inside Passage route during the low season.

Contents

Built in 1965, Queen of Prince Rupert was decommissioned on April 20, 2009 following the launch of Northern Expedition and was replaced by Northern Adventure on the Prince Rupert-Skidegate Route. [1]

On May 4, 2011, the official registration of Queen of Prince Rupert was closed. [2] The vessel was sold to Goundar Shipping Company of Fiji and renamed MV Lomaiviti Princess. [3] The vessel departed British Columbia waters bound for Fiji on August 5, 2011.

History

Queen of Prince Rupert was built by Victoria Machinery Depot Co. Ltd (VMD), Victoria and completed in 1966 as the first BC Ferries vessel to serve the Inside Passage from northern Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert. It was the flagship of the fleet until Queen of the North was added to the run in 1980.

The designer of the vessel was Danish naval architecture firm Knud E. Hansen. The keel was laid down on November 30, 1964 [4] and the ship launched on October 15, 1965. [5] The launching did not proceed without incident. The traditional smashing of a champagne bottle against the hull was to be performed by the wife of the Speaker of the Legislature, W H Murray. Moments before, however, a young boy ran across the dock and tripped over the rope which restrained the chains holding the vessel to the ways. Instead of being launched by the pull of a lever, Queen of Prince Rupert was sent down the ways prematurely by accident.

Mrs. Murray belatedly pulled a second lever to propel the champagne bottle, but it missed the boat. Harold Husband, president of VMD, grabbed the bottle on its return swing and tried to smash it against the hull, but the bottle only bounced off. Then the winds pushed the unpowered vessel directly towards a grain dock. Nearby tugboats quickly moved in to keep Queen of Prince Rupert out of danger. To ensure that there would be no bad luck associated with an improperly christened ship, Mrs. Murray later "threw another bottle of bubbly at the frisky ferry" as it lay tied up to a pier. [5]

From 1966 to 1979, the route operated from Kelsey Bay, the northern limit of the highway system on Vancouver Island at the time.

In its inaugural year, Queen of Prince Rupert made the journey in 20 hours, departing at 1:30 pm from Prince Rupert and Kelsey Bay on alternate days. A one way fare was $30, while the cost for an automobile and driver was $60. There were 16 deluxe staterooms on the Bridge Deck, with two berths, shower and bathroom ($11.50 per berth); 22 outside and 55 inside semi-deluxe staterooms on the Promenade Deck, with bathroom ($10.00 and $8.50 per berth); and on the Lower Deck or Tween Deck; 30 2-berth staterooms (5.50 per berth) and 9 4-berth rooms ($18 for the room). Public showers were located on the Tween deck.

In the 1977–1978 season, passenger rates were still $30 between Kelsey Bay and Prince Rupert, while cars were $40 alone. A notable change to the route was made that season during the fall to spring schedule. The ship departed from Tsawwassen, enabling northerners to travel directly from Prince Rupert to Vancouver by sea. On the October–April schedule, the ship left Tsawwassen Mondays at 8:00 am, stopping at Kelsey Bay and Bella Bella, arriving at Prince Rupert at 6:00 pm Tuesday. Turnaround time was quick, as it departed for the south again at 10:30 pm, reaching Tsawwassen at 6.30 am Thursday. The Thursday to Sunday run called in at Ocean Falls. [6]

In 1979, the North Island Highway was completed through to Port Hardy, and a new terminal built at nearby Bear Cove. In 1980, Queen of the North entered service on the Inside Passage route. The BC government decided to utilize Queen of Prince Rupert on the tourist run from Victoria to Seattle, replacing the coastal steamship Princess Marguerite. In what was seen by many as a politically expedient move, they leased Queen of Prince Rupert to the BC Steamship Corporation when Princess Marguerite was found to violate US pollution requirements. The vessel was renamed Victoria Princess. To enable loading at Victoria's Inner Harbour, a side-loading door was installed. Victoria Princess only operated on the route for one summer, however, and in November, 1980, returned to the BC Ferries fleet as Queen of Prince Rupert to begin its service between Prince Rupert and Skidegate.

When Queen of the North sank on March 22, 2006, Queen of Prince Rupert was in drydock undergoing its annual refit. She was quickly pressed back into service, and made her first voyage of the season less than a month later. On April 20, 2006, the vessel made her first crossing through Wright Sound where her sister ship had sunk. Queen of Prince Rupert stopped at the spot and passengers threw into the water 99 white roses (the number of people rescued) and two red roses (for the two people missing and presumed dead). [7] Queen of Prince Rupert continued covering both the Inside Passage and Queen Charlotte Islands routes until the replacement Northern Adventure was ready for service in March 2007. This necessitated considerably reduced service in the busy summer tourism season, and had a significant effect on the economies of coastal communities.

Previous to the Queen of the North disaster, crew quarters on both vessels were below the waterline, beneath the car deck. Passenger staterooms below the waterline had not been used for a number of years, but the crew's bunks and mess continued in use. Immediately after the sinking, however, the passenger cabins on Queen of Prince Rupert's Promenade deck were given over to the crew, greatly reducing the number of staterooms available to travellers, but ensuring the safety of the crew.

Queen of Prince Rupert was decommissioned at a ceremony in Prince Rupert on April 20, 2009. The new Northern Expedition as well as the newly purchased Northern Adventure (which is Queen of Prince Rupert's replacement on the Prince Rupert – Skidegate route) were present along with Queen of Prince Rupert in Prince Rupert Harbour on April 19, 2009, marking the only time to date that all three vessels were in the same location together. [1]

Related Research Articles

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 36 vessels with a total passenger and crew capacity of over 27,000, serving 47 locations on the B.C. coast.

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V-class ferry

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MV <i>Queen of Alberni</i>

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MV <i>Queen of the North</i>

MV Queen of the North was a roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ferry built by AG Weser of Germany and operated by BC Ferries, which ran along an 18-hour route along the British Columbia Coast of Canada between Port Hardy and Prince Rupert, British Columbia, a route also known as the Inside Passage. On March 22, 2006, with 101 people aboard, she failed to make a planned course change, ran aground and sank. Two passengers, whose bodies were never found, died in the incident. The ship had a gross register tonnage of 8,806, and an overall length of 125 metres (410 ft). She had a capacity of 700 passengers and 115 cars.

SS <i>Prince Rupert</i>

The Grand Trunk steamship Prince Rupert and her sister ship SS Prince George served the coast of British Columbia and Alaska. Prince Rupert had a 45-year career serving northern ports from Vancouver, British Columbia, from 1910 to 1955. The ship was considered "unlucky" and suffered several incidents during her career, including two significant ones that left large portions of the vessel underwater. The ship was broken up in 1956.

MV <i>Northern Adventure</i>

M/V Northern Adventure is a roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ferry operated by BC Ferries. She sails two routes: the scenic Inside Passage route between Port Hardy and Prince Rupert and the Haida Gwaii crossing between Prince Rupert and Skidegate.

MV <i>Coastal Celebration</i>

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MV <i>Northern Expedition</i>

M/V Northern Expedition is a roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ferry operated by BC Ferries in British Columbia, Canada. She sails daily on the Inside Passage route connecting Prince Rupert and Port Hardy.

Victoria Machinery Depot Ltd. was a ship builder located in Victoria, British Columbia, Canada.

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SS <i>Princess Marguerite</i>

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References

  1. 1 2 "Queen of Prince Rupert Officially Retired from BC Ferries' Fleet" (PDF). 2009-04-20. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
  2. ↑ http://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/Saf-Sec-Sur/4/vrqs-srib/d.aspx?lang=e&shipid=323870
  3. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2011-10-04. Retrieved 2011-08-06.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  4. ↑ Dogwood Fleet : The Story of the British Columbia Ferry Authority from 1958. Cadieux and Griffiths, 1967, p. 114.
  5. 1 2 Pardon B.C. Ferry's Slip. Vancouver Sun, Oct 16, 1965.
  6. ↑ BC Ferries MV Queen of Prince Rupert schedule, 1977–1978
  7. ↑ Sunken B.C. ferry honoured by passing ship [ dead link ]
Preceded by
(New creation)		 BC Ferries northern flagship
1966–1980		Succeeded by
MV Queen of the North
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