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.
Marine Atlantic Inc. is an independent Canadian federal Crown corporation which is mandated to operate ferry services between the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.
The Alaska Marine Highway (AMH) or the Alaska Marine Highway System (AMHS) is a ferry service operated by the U.S. state of Alaska. It has its headquarters in Ketchikan, Alaska.
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, all 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 362, and a crew and passenger capacity of 1500 persons. Each vessel's two MaK 12M551AK engines produce 11,860 HP, which provides a service speed of 22 knots.
The V-class ferries, also known as Victoria class, originally included seven BC Ferries built between 1962 and 1965. 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. Some of these vessels underwent vehicle capacity increases three times.
The Powell River-class ferry is a class of ships operated by BC Ferries. The open deck vessels are mostly used on low-to-moderate volume routes, with Mayne Queen permanently on Route 5, connecting the Outer Gulf Islands with Swartz Bay, Powell River Queen on Route 23, Campbell River to Quadra Island, and Bowen Queen on relief duty, typically Routes 4,5, and 9.
MV Queen of Alberni is a C-class ferry that operates between Tsawwassen and Duke Point in British Columbia. She is part of the BC Ferries fleet.
BC Ferries operates two T-class ferries for use on small inter-island routes. They have raised bows, which make it easier for the ships to travel in the rough seas often found on British Columbia's central coast. The ferries carry 30 cars and 150 passengers. Both were built in 1969. They were originally owned and operated by BC's Ministry of Transportation and Highways until 1985, when the Ministry's saltwater ferries and routes were transferred to BC Ferries, including the T class. The two T-class ferries are Tachek and Quadra Queen II.
Reine Mathilde was a ferry operated by Brittany Ferries. She was built as the MS Prince of Fundy in 1970 by Schiffbau Gesellschaft Unterweser, AG, in Bremerhaven, Germany, for the Lion Ferry service between Portland, Maine, and Yarmouth, Nova Scotia.
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. The vessel also ran on the Prince Rupert-Port Hardy Inside Passage route during the low season.
MV Malaspina Sky is an Intermediate-class ferry in the BC Ferries fleet built in 2008.
Asbury Park was a high-speed coastal steamer built in Philadelphia, and intended to transport well-to-do persons from New York to summer homes on the New Jersey shore. This vessel was sold to West Coast interests in 1918, and later converted to an automobile ferry, serving on various routes San Francisco Bay, Puget Sound and British Columbia. This vessel was known by a number of other names, including City of Sacramento, Kahloke, Langdale Queen, and Lady Grace.
MV Nimpkish is an N-class ferry and the smallest vessel currently owned by BC Ferries. It is 33.93 metres (111.3 ft) long, holds 12 vehicles and 95 passengers, and its maximum speed is 11 knots. Nimpkish entered service with the Ministry of Transportation's Salt Water division in 1973, and was built in Vancouver to serve the inter-island routes. The vessel was transferred to BC Ferries in 1985. It currently runs on the Discovery Coast Connector service, a summer-only route linking Port Hardy, Bella Bella, Shearwater, Klemtu, Ocean Falls and Bella Coola.
M/V Queen of the Islands was a RORO ferry operated by BC Ferries between 1963 and 1991. Although the passenger areas provided for an enjoyable travel experience for the general public, she was much maligned by the crews that worked on her, and the Queen of the Islands quickly garnered a reputation as being one of the most unloved ships ever to have operated with BC Ferries.
MV Princess of Vancouver was a passenger vessel in the Pacific coastal service fleet of the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).
Princess Marguerite, Princess Marguerite II, and Princess Marguerite III was a series of Canadian coastal passenger vessels that operated along the west coast of British Columbia and into Puget Sound in Washington state almost continuously from 1925 to 1999. Known locally as “the Maggie”, they saw the longest service of any vessel that carried passengers and freight between Victoria, Vancouver, and Seattle. The vessels were owned and operated by a series of companies, primarily Canadian Pacific Railway Company (CPSS) and British Columbia Steamships Corporation. The first two were part of the CPR "Princess fleet," which was composed of ships having names which began with the title "Princess". These were named after Marguerite Kathleen Shaughnessy, who was not a princess but was the daughter of Baron Thomas Shaughnessy, then chairman of the board of CPSS's parent, the Canadian Pacific Railway (CPR).
MV Motor Princess was a vehicle and passenger ferry built for Canadian Pacific in 1923. She was later renamed, Pender Queen then Pender Lady.
Kildonan is an unincorporated community in the Alberni Inlet-Barkley Sound region of the west coast of southern Vancouver Island, British Columbia. The former steamboat landing and ferry dock is on the east shore of Uchuchklesit Inlet, which branches northwest of the lower reaches of Alberni Inlet. Adjacent to Pacific Rim National Park Reserve, the locality is by road and ferry about 120 kilometres (75 mi) southwest of Port Alberni.
MV Chinook was an automobile ferry that operated between Seattle, Port Angeles and Victoria under the ownership of Puget Sound Navigation Company.
M/V Northern Sea Wolf is a roll-on/roll-off (RORO) ferry operated by BC Ferries in British Columbia, Canada. Her normal sailing schedule is five days a week during the peak summer season on the Inside Passage route connecting Bella Coola and Port Hardy. The route normally takes about ten hours to complete. Her schedule calls for one trip per day during daylight hours to maximize passenger enjoyment of the scenery.
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