MV Queen of Alberni

M/V "Queen of Alberni" is a ferry that operates between Tsawwassen and Duke Point in British Columbia. It is part of the BC Ferry fleet.

History

The "Queen of Alberni" was built in Vancouver, British Columbia in 1976. It joined the other two C-class ferries, the "Queen of Coquitlam" and the "Queen of Cowichan", that were also built in that year, with the other two C-class ferries, the "Queen of Surrey" and "Queen of Oak Bay", joining later.

The "Queen of Alberni" was different than the others, as it only had one car deck designed to carry overheight vehicles. Its lack of an upper car deck put its capacity at 145 overheight vehicles. The ferry's high truck capacity made it a natural for the service's Tsawwassen-Duke Point route (Established in 1990 as the Mid-Island Express, running between Tsawwassen and Departure Bay), which is intended for a high volume of overheight vehicles. This route is also served by the "Queen of New Westminster", a Burnaby class ferry. In 1984, the ship was stretched and lifted, gaining an upper car deck for non-overheight vehicles, leading to a new vehicle capacity of 292. In 1999, the ship underwent another refit in Victoria.

The ship has a different system of ship evacuation since it carries fewer passengers. All of the lifejackets are stored in large containers scattered throughout the two passenger decks. The ship has three evacuation stations on each side of the top passenger deck, or sun deck. The combined capacity of these six stations is 1,200.

In 2007, the "Queen of Alberni" completed a 40 million dollar mid-life upgrade which will prepare the 31-year old vessel for another 20 years of service.

Accidents

The life of the "Queen of Alberni" has seen quite a few mishaps. Only three years after her launch in 1976, the vessel ran aground in Active Pass. Many cars and trucks were damaged when the ship tilted over, and some flipped over completely. Fortunately, there were no major injuries and the only casualty was a racehorse that was being transported. Misfortune struck again in 1989 when ship smashed into the dock at the Departure Bay terminal in Nanaimo. Six people were injured.

Another accident would come on March 12, 1992. At around 8:00am the "Queen of Alberni" left the Tsawwassen terminal with heavy fog and almost zero visibility. The Japanese bulk carrier "Shinwa Maru" left the Westshore Terminal No. 1 at nearby Roberts Bank, B.C. at 7:40am. At 8:06am the two ships made contact after seeing each other on radar to arrange a safe passage. At 8:08am the two vessels collided. The "Queen of Alberni" hit the "Shinwa Maru" about 25m aft of the bow, 3 meters above the waterline, and at a 70-degree angle. Two people aboard "The Queen of Alberni" were seriously injured while none aboard the "Shinwa Maru" were injured. "The Queen of Alberni" had minor damage to the hull and some of the cafeteria equipment was displaced. The "Shinwa Maru", however, was damaged when the ferry penetrated the no. 1 cargo hold and ballast tanks.

On December 15, 2001 the "Queen of Alberni" got caught in a heavy wind storm which turned a regular 2-hour crossing into a 7½-hour ordeal.

External links

* [http://www.tsb.gc.ca/en/reports/marine/earlier/m92w1022/m92w1022.asp The Canadian Transportation Safety Board report on 1992 collision]
* [http://www.geocities.com/ferries_bc/profiles/bcf_qalberni.html "MV Queen of Alberni"]
* [http://www.bcferries.com/about/fleet/profile-queen_of_alberni.html BC Ferries Corporate Site profile on "MV Queen of Alberni"]