MV ''Queen of Prince Rupert'' was a

roll-on/roll-off Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...

(RORO)

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

operated by

BC Ferries British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., Trade name, operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former provincial Crown corporations of Canada, Crown corporation, now operating as an independently managed, State-owned enterprise, publicly owned Canadian c ...

that provided the main surface transport link between the

Queen Charlotte Islands Haida Gwaii (; / , literally "Islands of the Haida people"), previously known as the Queen Charlotte Islands, is an archipelago located between off the northern Pacific coast in the Canadian province of British Columbia. The islands are separ ...

and mainland

British Columbia British Columbia is the westernmost Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Canada. Situated in the Pacific Northwest between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains, the province has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that ...

, connecting

Skidegate Skidegate () is a Haida people, Haida community in in British Columbia, Canada. It is on the southeast coast of Graham Island, the largest island in the archipelago, and is approximately west of mainland British Columbia across Hecate Strait. ...

with

Prince Rupert Prince Rupert of the Rhine, Duke of Cumberland, (17 December 1619 ( O.S.) 7 December 1619 (N.S.)– 29 November 1682 (O.S.) December 1682 (N.S) was an English-German army officer, admiral, scientist, and colonial governor. He first rose to ...

across the

Hecate Strait Hecate Strait (; Haida language: ''K̲andaliig̲wii'', also ''siigaay'' which means simply "ocean") is a wide but shallow strait between Haida Gwaii and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada. It merges with Queen Charlotte Sound to the south a ...

(thus linking two segments of Highway 16). The vessel also ran on the Prince Rupert–

Port Hardy Port Hardy is a district municipality in British Columbia, Canada located on the north-east tip of Vancouver Island. Port Hardy has a population of 3,902 as of the 2021 census. It is the gateway to Cape Scott Provincial Park, the North Coast Tr ...

Inside Passage The Inside Passage () is a coastal route for ships and boats along a network of passages which weave through the islands on the Pacific Northwest coast of the North American Fjordland. The route extends from southeastern Alaska in the United St ...

route during the low season. Built in 1965, ''Queen of Prince Rupert'' was decommissioned on April 20, 2009 following the launch of and was replaced by on the Prince Rupert–Skidegate route. On May 4, 2011, the official registration of ''Queen of Prince Rupert'' was closed. The vessel was sold to Goundar Shipping Company of

Fiji Fiji, officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists of an archipelago of more than 330 islands—of which about ...

and renamed MV ''Lomaiviti Princess''. 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 Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

and completed in 1966 as the first BC Ferries vessel to serve the

from northern

Vancouver Island Vancouver Island is an island in the northeastern Pacific Ocean and part of the Canadian province of British Columbia. The island is in length, in width at its widest point, and in total area, while are of land. The island is the largest ...

to Prince Rupert. It was the

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

of the fleet until was added to the run in 1980. The designer of the vessel was Danish naval architecture firm Knud E. Hansen. The

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

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 November 30, 1964 and the ship launched on October 15, 1965.Pardon B.C. Ferry's Slip. ''Vancouver Sun'', Oct 16, 1965. 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

tugboat A tugboat or tug is a marine vessel that manoeuvres other vessels by pushing or pulling them, with direct contact or a tow line. These boats typically tug ships in circumstances where they cannot or should not move under their own power, suc ...

s 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. 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

state rooms A state room or stateroom in a large European mansion is usually one of a suite of very grand rooms which were designed for use when entertaining royalty. The term was most widely used in the 17th and 18th centuries. They were the most lavishly ...

on the Bridge Deck, with two berths, shower and bathroom ($11.50 per berth); 22 outside and 55 inside semi-deluxe state rooms on the Promenade Deck, with bathroom ($10.00 and $8.50 per berth); and on the Lower Deck or Tween Deck; 30 two-berth state rooms (5.50 per berth) and 9 four-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 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 ...

, 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 Ocean Falls is a community on the Central Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Formerly a large company town owned by Crown Zellerbach, it is accessible only via boat or seaplane, and is home for a few dozen full-time residents, with the season ...

. 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 British Columbia 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. Queen of Prince Rupert -a

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 Wright Sound is a waterway on the British Columbia Coast, North Coast of British Columbia, Canada. Wright Sound is south of Prince Rupert, British Columbia, Prince Rupert and lies at the southern opening of Grenville Channel and between Gil Island ...

where her

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

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).Sunken B.C. ferry honoured by passing ship
/ref> ''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 state rooms below the waterline had not been used for a number of years, but the crew's bunks and

mess The mess (also called a mess deck aboard ships) is a designated area where military personnel socialize, eat and (in some cases) live. The term is also used to indicate the groups of military personnel who belong to separate messes, such as the o ...

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 state rooms 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.

References

External links

BC Ferries profileQueen of Prince Rupert, A ferry trip down memory lane, by Heather Ramsay. Northward.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Queen of Prince Rupert, MV Ships of BC Ferries North Coast of British Columbia 1965 ships Transport in Prince Rupert, British Columbia