MV Queen of Prince Rupert

Queen of Prince Rupert at dock in Prince Rupert, 2007.
History
Name: M/V Queen of Prince Rupert
Owner: British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.
Operator: British Columbia Ferry Services Inc.
Port of registry: Canada Victoria, Canada
Route: Prince Rupert–Skidegate, Prince Rupert-Port Hardy
Builder: Victoria Machinery Depot Co. Ltd
Cost: $6-7 million
Laid down: November 30, 1964
Launched: October 15, 1965
Christened: October 15, 1965
Completed: 1966
Out of service: April 20, 2009
Fate: Sold to Goundar Shipping Company, Fiji, 2011
General characteristics
Tonnage: 5,864 ton
Length: 101.15 m (332 ft)
Installed power: 7,680 hp (5.73 MW)
Propulsion: Four Mirrlees KLSSMR8
Speed: 18.0 kn (33.3 km/h)
Capacity:
  • 544 (passengers and crew)
  • 80 vehicles

M/V Queen of Prince Rupert was a 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 (thus linking two segments of Highway 16). The vessel also ran on the Prince Rupert-Port Hardy Inside Passage route during the low season.

Built in 1965, the Queen of Prince Rupert was decommissioned on April 20, 2009 following the launch of the Northern Expedition and was replaced by the Northern Adventure on the Prince Rupert-Skidegate Route.[1]

On May 4, 2011 the official registration of the Queen of Prince Rupert was closed.[2] The vessel was sold to Goundar Shipping Company of Fiji and renamed the M.V. Lomaiviti Princess.[3] The vessel departed B.C. waters bound for Fiji on August 5, 2011.

History

The Queen of Prince Rupert was built by Victoria Machinery Depot Co. Ltd (VMD), Victoria and completed in 1966 as the first BC Ferries vessel to serve the Inside Passage from northern Vancouver Island to Prince Rupert. It was the flagship of the fleet until the Queen of the North was added to the run in 1980.

The designer of the vessel was Jorgen Baess, VMD's resident naval architect. The keel was laid on November 30, 1964[4] and the ship launched on October 15, 1965.[5] 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, the QPR 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 tugs quickly moved in to keep the QPR 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.[5]

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, the QPR 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 staterooms on the Bridge Deck, with two berths, shower and bathroom ($11.50 per berth); 22 outside and 55 inside semi-deluxe staterooms on the Promenade Deck, with bathroom ($10.00 and $8.50 per berth); and on the Lower Deck or Tween Deck; 30 2-berth staterooms (5.50 per berth) and 9 4-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, 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.[6]

In 1979 the North Island Highway was completed through to Port Hardy, and a new terminal built at nearby Bear Cove. In 1980, the Queen of the North entered service on the Inside Passage route. The BC government decided to utilize the 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 the QPR to the BC Steamship Corporation when the Princess Marguerite was found to violate US pollution requirements. The vessel was renamed the Victoria Princess. To enable loading at Victoria's Inner Harbour, a side-loading door was installed. The Victoria Princess only operated on the route for one summer, however, and in November, 1980, returned to the BC Ferries fleet as the Queen of Prince Rupert to begin its service between Prince Rupert and Skidegate.

When the Queen of the North sank on March 22, 2006, the Queen of Prince Rupert was in drydock undergoing its annual refit. It was quickly pressed back into service, and made its first voyage of the season less than a month later. On April 20, 2006, the vessel made its first crossing through Wright Sound where its sister ship had sunk. The 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).[7] The 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's quarters on both vessels were below the water line, beneath the car deck. Passenger staterooms below the waterline had not been used for a number of years, but the crew's bunks and mess continued in use. Immediately after the sinking, however, the passenger cabins on the Queen of Prince Rupert's Promenade deck were given over to the crew, greatly reducing the number of staterooms available to travellers, but ensuring the safety of the crew.

The Queen of Prince Rupert was decommissioned at a ceremony in Prince Rupert on April 20, 2009. The brand new Northern Expedition as well as the newly purchased Northern Adventure (which is the QPR's replacement on the Prince Rupert - Skidegate route) were present along with the QPR in Prince Rupert Harbour on April 19, 2009, marking the only time to date that all three vessels were in the same location together.[1]

References

  1. 1 2 "Queen of Prince Rupert Officially Retired from BC Ferries' Fleet" (PDF). 2009-04-20. p. 1. Retrieved 2009-05-21.
  2. ↑ http://wwwapps.tc.gc.ca/Saf-Sec-Sur/4/vrqs-srib/d.aspx?lang=e&shipid=323870
  3. ↑ http://www.fijisun.com.fj/main_page/view.asp?id=57580
  4. ↑ Dogwood Fleet : The Story of the British Columbia Ferry Authority from 1958. Cadieux and Griffiths, 1967, p. 114.
  5. 1 2 Pardon B.C. Ferry's Slip. Vancouver Sun, Oct 16, 1965.
  6. ↑ BC Ferries MV Queen of Prince Rupert schedule, 1977-1978
  7. ↑ Sunken B.C. ferry honoured by passing ship
Preceded by
 BC Ferries Northern Flagship
1966 - 1980 		Succeeded by
MV Queen of the North
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