The V-class ferries, also known as the Victoria class, originally included seven ferries operated by BC Ferries built between 1962 and 1965. The V class were a continuation of the previous design with some cosmetic changes and different engines. These vessels were the backbone of service on the Tsawwassen – Swartz Bay route prior to the arrival of in 1993. Four of these vessels underwent vehicle capacity increases three times. The lead ship of the class, Queen of Victoria suffered significant damage in a collision in 1970.
Two of the ferries are also known as the Burnaby class, built between 1964 and 1965. There are two ships in this class are MV Queen of Burnaby and . Both are propelled by controllable-pitch propellers. Both were built with two Mirrlees National KVSSM, V-16, 4 stroke-cycle, diesel engines, each producing at 320 revolutions per minute.
The vessels began to be retired in 2000. Four vessels were to be retired and sold in 2008. The transfer of Queen of Esquimalt was halted and she was broken up in Ensenada, Mexico. Both Queen of Nanaimo and Queen of Burnaby were retired in 2017. Queen of New Westminster is still in service with BC Ferries. Queen of Nanaimo was sold to a ferry company in Fiji and was eventually sold for scrap in June 2022.
Background
In 1958, the premier of British Columbia W.A.C. Bennett authorised the creation of a provincial ferry service. The new service, known as the British Columbia Ferry Corporation ordered two ships constructed from shipyards in British Columbia which became the ferries. The initial success of the first two led BC Ferries to order a further two new ships similar to the Sidney class, but with modifications based on lessons learned from the first two ships. The new ships would be also be designed by the naval architect Philip F. Spaulding and his Canadian partner Arthur McLaren but this time, BC Ferries would purchase the plans for the ships and not have to pay royalty payments. Ordered in 1961, the two new ships were initially named City of Victoria and City of Vancouver. The vessels were renamed to Queen of Victoria and Queen of Vancouver due to a change in fleetwide naming policy based on CP Ships naming their vessels "Princess". As a result, the larger vessels of the British Columbia Ferries fleet would have "Queen" placed in front of their original names and the smaller ones have it added to the end. The V class were intended to replace the ships BC Ferries had received from the Black Ball Line during its creation.
Ships in class
{|class="wikitable plainrowheaders"
|+ Construction data
!scope="col"|Name
!scope="col"|Builder
!scope="col"|Launched
!scope="col"|Completed
!scope="col"|Fate
|-
|scope="row" |
| Victoria Machinery Depot, Victoria, British Columbia
| 24 October 1961
| February 1962
| sold 2001, renamed Queen of Ocoa, then Aan, scrapped 2006
|-
|scope="row" |
| Burrard Dry Dock, North Vancouver, British Columbia
| 16 January 1962
| April 1962
| Broken up for scrap 2012
|-
|scope="row" | Queen of Saanich
| rowspan="5" | Victoria Machinery Depot, Victoria
| 28 November 1962
| February 1963
| Broken up for scrap 2012
|-
|scope="row" | Queen of Esquimalt
| 22 January 1963
| March 1963
| Sold 2010, renamed Princess Jacqueline, broken up 2011
|-
|scope="row" |
| 3 December 1963
| June 1964
| Sold 2017, renamed Lomaiviti Princess V, broken up 2022 The engines create each She had a major refit of her passenger areas completed in 2009, preparing her for another ten to fifteen years of service. The vessel measures with a beam of , has a passenger and crew capacity of 1,332 and a car capacity of 254.
In 1992, while Queen of New Westminster was loading passengers and vehicles at Departure Bay, a van was directed to stop on the apron of the shore loading ramp to the upper deck of the ship. While the van was stopped, the ship began to depart, leaving the apron without support and causing the van to fall first onto Queen of New Westminsters deck and then into the water. Three people died in the incident, with three survivors (one suffering serious injury). BC Ferries was later found to be at fault in the following investigation. After the demise of the Victoria Line, the vessel was purchased by Clipper Navigation, which operates the Victoria Clipper passenger-only service between Victoria and Seattle. The vessel was then renamed and repainted to become Princess Marguerite III, operating on the Victoria to Seattle route. In 2000, after Clipper Navigation also decided to end service on the route, the vessel was returned to the BC Ferries fleet under her original name, Queen of Burnaby.
Queen of Esquimalt was retired on 25 May 2008. The vessel was sold to Dalian Golden Sun I/E Co., Ltd. and docked in Port Alberni and renamed Princess Jacqueline. The ship was intended for further service in China, but Princess Jacqueline never left British Columbia waters and the sale was eventually halted due to court action. In 2011 the vessel was scrapped at Ensenada, Mexico.
Queen of Saanich was retired on 18 November 2008 and sold. The vessel was renamed Owen Bell and used as a logging camp on the coast of the Vancouver Island. The ship was later moved to be moored on the west side of Anvil Island in Howe Sound. Owen Bell was scrapped in 2012 at Ensenada, Mexico. Queen of Vancouver was the next to be taken out of service on 15 April 2009. The ferry was sold to Coast Marine and moored at Woodfibre until 2012. The ship was then sent for scrapping at Ensenada, Mexico. and Queen of Nanaimo was retired in September 2017 (replaced by MV Salish Eagle). Queen of Nanaimo was sold to Goundar Shipping Ltd. of Fiji for service in the island nation. The ship was renamed Lomaiviti Princess V and services Savusavu and Kadavu Island. In June 2022, the ship was sold for scrap to a breaking yard in Alang, India. However, the sale was not finalized and the vessel remains in Union Bay, British Columbia.
Queen of Burnaby and Queen of Nanaimo were replaced by three 145-car Salish-class ferries. The larger , which had a major refit of her passenger areas completed in 2009, is expected to see another ten to fifteen years of service and is the sole survivor of the original seven ships.
Notes
Citations
References
External links
- Film footage of the August 2nd 1970 collision between the Queen of Victoria and the Soviet freighter Sergey Yesenin