MV ''Coastal Inspiration'' is the second of three ships delivered to

BC Ferries 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 fer ...

. Launched in 2007 and entering service in 2008, ''Coastal Inspiration'' operates on the Duke Point –

Tsawwassen Tsawwassen ( ) is a suburban, mostly residential community on a peninsula in the southwestern corner of the City of Delta in British Columbia, Canada. It provides the only road access to the American territory on the southern tip of the peninsul ...

route in

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include ...

. 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.

Description

''Coastal Inspiration'' is the second of three double-ended

ferries A ferry is a ship, watercraft or amphibious vehicle used to carry passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A passenger ferry with many stops, such as in Venice, Italy, is sometimes called a water bus or water taxi ...

. The ship has a and is with a maximum

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and Physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

of . The vessel is

long overall __NOTOC__ Length overall (LOA, o/a, o.a. or oa) is the maximum length of a vessel's hull measured parallel to the waterline. This length is important while docking the ship. It is the most commonly used way of expressing the size of a ship, and ...

and

between perpendiculars Length between perpendiculars (often abbreviated as p/p, p.p., pp, LPP, LBP or Length BPP) is the length of a ship along the summer load line from the forward surface of the stem, or main bow perpendicular member, to the after surface of the stern ...

with a

beam Beam may refer to: Streams of particles or energy * Light beam, or beam of light, a directional projection of light energy ** Laser beam * Particle beam, a stream of charged or neutral particles **Charged particle beam, a spatially localized g ...

of . The ship is powered by four

MaK Mak may refer to: People *Mak Dizdar (1917 - 1971), Bosnian poet *Muhammad Arshad Khan, Pakistani painter popularly known as "MAK" * Alan Mak (director) (born 1968), Hong Kong film director * Alan Mak (politician) (born 1984), British Member of P ...

8M32C

diesel engine The diesel engine, named after Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which ignition of the fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to mechanical compression; thus, the diesel engine is a so-ca ...

s driving two

shafts ''Shafts'' was an English feminist magazine produced by Margaret Sibthorp from 1892 until 1899. Initially published weekly and priced at one penny, its themes included votes for women, women's education, and radical attitudes towards vivisection ...

rated at . This gives the ship a maximum speed of .The Miramar Ship Index gives the vessel's speed as . The ferry has capacity for 1,304 crew and passengers along with 310 vehicles that meet the AEU equivalent.The AEU equivalent is based on a standard vehicle measure of . ''Coastal Inspiration'' is equipped with a variety amenities including coffee shops and lounges.

Service history

On September 17, 2004,

awarded a contract to

Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft is a German shipbuilding company located in Flensburg. The company trades as ''Flensburger'' and is commonly abbreviated ''FSG''. History ''Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft'' was founded in 1872 by a group of ...

of Flensburg, Germany to build three double-ended ferries. The second

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element on a vessel. On some sailboats, it may have a hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose, as well. As the laying down of the keel is the initial step in the construction of a ship, in B ...

was

laid down Laying the keel or laying down is the formal recognition of the start of a ship's construction. It is often marked with a ceremony attended by dignitaries from the shipbuilding company and the ultimate owners of the ship. Keel laying is one ...

on April 23, 2007, with the

yard number __NOTOC__ M ...

734. The ferry was launched on August 31, 2007, and named ''Coastal Inspiration'' in 2006. The ferry was completed on February 8, 2008. The vessel departed Flensburg on February 9, 2008, transited the

Panama Canal The Panama Canal ( es, Canal de Panamá, link=no) is an artificial waterway in Panama that connects the Atlantic Ocean with the Pacific Ocean and divides North and South America. The canal cuts across the Isthmus of Panama and is a Channel ( ...

on March 7 and arrived in

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. As of the 2021 census, it had a population of 99,863, and it is known as "The Harbour City." The city was previously known as the "Hub City," which was ...

Departure Bay Departure Bay is a bay in central Nanaimo, British Columbia, on the east coast of Vancouver Island. The surrounding neighbourhood is also referred to as "Departure Bay" —once a settlement of its own, it was amalgamated into the City of Nan ...

on March 25. ''Coastal Inspiration'' began regular service on June 16, 2008, on the Duke Point –

route. It had made unscheduled training runs during the week leading up to the date. On August 15, 2008, a fire broke out in one of the vehicles on the main car deck aboard the ferry after departing Tsawwassen. Roughly away from the terminal, the ferry returned to Tsawwassen and disembarked the 562 passengers aboard until the fire was extinguished and

Transport Canada Transport Canada (french: Transports Canada) is the department within the Government of Canada responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of road, rail, marine and air transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transporta ...

had cleared the ferry for departure. On December 20, 2011, ''Coastal Inspiration'' experienced a hard landing upon arrival at Duke Point terminal. The terminal berth sustained significant damage and the vessel's port side doors were also damaged. The terminal required extensive repairs and its closure rerouted all service through Departure Bay. Repairs to the ship were completed in January 2012, and the terminal reopened in May 2012. The cause of the crash was later determined to be crew error. On August 1, 2013, ''Coastal Inspiration'' and rescued three boaters whose craft had overturned near Tsawwassen terminal.

Notes

Citations

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Coastal Inspiration, MV Coastal-class ferries Ships built in Flensburg 2007 ships