MV Skeena Queen

Class overview
MV Skeena Queen
Name:	MV Skeena Queen
Builders:	Allied Shipbuilders Ltd., North Vancouver
Operators:	BC Ferries
Built:	1997–
Planned:	3
Completed:	1
Active:	1

The MV Skeena Queen is a ferry built in 1997 and named after the Skeena River. It was intended to be part of a class of spartan, utilitarian ferries, in the "Century ferry class", designed by McLaren and Sons naval architects. In 1994 the 10-year plan of BC Ferries called for construction of three Century class ferries, to service the busier Gulf Island routes in British Columbia 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 the Skeena Queen. It runs solely on the Swartz Bay-Saltspring Island (at Fulford Harbour) route (except for a brief four-day trial on the Horseshoe Bay to Bowen Island run from April 23 to April 26, 1998).

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 the 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 its four high-speed Mitsubishi 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.

The 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: 14.5 knots (16.7 mph; 26.9 km/h) at 3500 bhp
Installed Power: 5,040 hp (3.8 MW)

The 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. The Skeena Queen operates solely on the route between Swartz Bay and Fulford Harbour, which is a 35-minute crossing.

The ship is currently being used on the 1 1/2 hour Swartz Bay to Pender, Mayne, and Galiano Islands run for the next 4 months (Jan to April 2016) Where most passengers would like to get out of their vehicles. There is no food service except for less than reliable vending machines. The MV Bowen Queen with passenger area designed for the longer runs is currently being used on the Fulford Harbour to Swartz Bay run.

External links

BC Ferries current fleet

S class	Spirit of British Columbia Spirit of Vancouver Island

Coastal class	Coastal Renaissance Coastal Inspiration Coastal Celebration

C class	Queen of Cowichan Queen of Coquitlam Queen of Alberni Queen of Oak Bay Queen of Surrey

Burnaby class	Queen of Nanaimo Queen of Burnaby

I class	Island Sky Queen of Cumberland Queen of Capilano

Powell River class	Bowen Queen Mayne Queen Powell River Queen

Century class	Skeena Queen

K class	Kahloke Klitsa Kuper Kwuna

T class	Tachek Quadra Queen II

N class	Nimpkish Nicola

Unclassed	Howe Sound Queen North Island Princess Northern Adventure Northern Expedition Queen of Chilliwack Queen of New Westminster Quinitsa Quinsam Tenaka

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Saturday, April 09, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.