MV ''Quinsam'' is an automobile

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 ...

. It was built in 1982 by Vancouver Shipyards in

Vancouver, British Columbia Vancouver is a major city in Western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the cit ...

. Initially, the ferry was part of the Ministry of Transportation and Highways' (MoT) saltwater ferry fleet until 1985, when it was transferred to BC Ferries along with other saltwater ferries, such as ''Quinsam''. ''Quinsam'' carries 70 cars and replaced the smaller (which carries fifty cars) on the

Nanaimo Nanaimo ( ) is a city of about 100,000 on the east coast of Vancouver Island, in British Columbia, Canada. "The Harbour City" was previously known as the "Hub City", which was attributed to its original layout design with streets radiating fr ...

↔

Gabriola Island Gabriola Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia (BC), Canada. It is about east of Nanaimo on Vancouver Island, to which it is linked by a 20-minute ferry service. It has a land area of about and a resi ...

route, and then once again on the

Vesuvius Mount Vesuvius ( ) is a Somma volcano, somma–stratovolcano located on the Gulf of Naples in Campania, Italy, about east of Naples and a short distance from the shore. It is one of several volcanoes forming the Campanian volcanic arc. Vesuv ...

↔ Crofton route in 2022. ''Quinsam'' has few passenger amenities onboard. On each side of the car deck, there are small passenger lounges offering some seating, along with washrooms and vending machines. In 2010, she underwent a $16 million mid-life upgrade, which included new engines and generators, a rebuilt pilothouse and passenger cabin, as well as steel replacement.

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Quinsam Q-class ferries 1982 ships Ships built in North Vancouver