MV ''Skeena Queen'' is a

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 ...

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 ...

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 ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. She runs solely on the

Swartz Bay Swartz Bay, located on the north end of the Saanich Peninsula on Vancouver Island, is primarily known for being the location of one of BC Ferries British Columbia Ferry Services Inc., Trade name, operating as BC Ferries (BCF), is a former pr ...

Saltspring Island Salt Spring Island or Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada, and Vancouver Island. The island was initially inhabited by various Salishan peoples before being settled ...

(at

Fulford Harbour Fulford Harbour is a residential community on the southeast side of Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, located near the island's southern end. Fulford Harbour is the site of a BC Ferries terminal with regular ferry service to Swartz Bay on Va ...

) route.

Design and construction

She was built in 1997 and named after the

Skeena River The Skeena River is the second-longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada (after the Fraser River). Since ancient times, the Skeena has been an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan—whose na ...

. She was intended to be part of a class of spartan, utilitarian ferries, in the "Century ferry class", designed by the naval architects McLaren and Sons In 1994 the 10-year plan of

called for construction of three Century-class ferries, to service the busier Gulf Island routes in

operated by BC Ferries. The name for the class was derived from the capacity, which is approximately 100 cars. However, the only ferry of the class actually built was ''Skeena Queen''. There is some speculation as to why the other two vessels in the class were not built. The obvious reason is that the high speed ferry program consumed all available funds. Others point to the problems with the four owner selected main propulsion engines that plagued ''Skeena Queen'' following commission, including excessively high noise levels and cylinder counterbore cracking in the high-speed engines. On April 15, 2002 ''Skeena Queen'' was removed from service and her four high-speed

Mitsubishi The is a group of autonomous Japanese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by Yatarō Iwasaki in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group traces its origins to the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company that existed from 1870 to 194 ...

S12R diesel engines were replaced with four Mitsubishi medium-speed engines, model S6U. The new engines were provided by Mitsubishi at a never disclosed price. ''Skeena Queen'' has the following characteristics: * Overall length: 110.0 m * Gross tonnage: 2,453 * Vehicle capacity: 100 spaces 17.5 feet long by 8.5 feet wide * Passenger and crew capacity: 600 * Service Speed: at 3500 bhp * Installed Power: 5,040 hp (3.8 MW) ''Skeena Queen'' has very little cabin space because the Century ferry class was intended to be used on short commuter runs of less than a half-hour duration where most of the passengers stay in their vehicles. ''Skeena Queen'' operates solely on the route between Swartz Bay and Fulford Harbour, which is a 35-minute crossing.

History

In 1998, the ferry operated for a brief four-day trial on the Horseshoe Bay to

Bowen Island Bowen Island (; ), British Columbia, is an island municipality that is part of Metro Vancouver, and within the jurisdiction of the Islands Trust. Located in Howe Sound, it is approximately wide by long, and at its closest point is about w ...

run from April 23 to April 26, 1998 and providing partial coverage between Swartz Bay and

Pender Island Pender Island ( Saanich: ) is the collective name for two Southern Gulf Islands located in the Salish Sea, British Columbia, Canada. The Pender Islands, consisting of North Pender Island and South Pender Island, have a combined area of approxim ...

in Spring of 2018 due to another vessel being removed from service for repairs). In 2015, the ferry had mechanical failure and was briefly out of service.

External links

Design overview from ship-technology.com

Mitsubishi S12R-MPTK specifications

Mitsubishi S6U-MPTK specifications
{{DEFAULTSORT:Skeena Queen Ferry classes