Century class ferry
Encyclopedia
The Century class ferry is a ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...

 class designed by McLaren and Sons naval architects intended to service the busier Gulf Island
Gulf Islands
The Gulf Islands are the islands in the Strait of Georgia , between Vancouver Island and the mainland of British Columbia, Canada....

 routes in British Columbia
British Columbia
British Columbia is the westernmost of Canada's provinces and is known for its natural beauty, as reflected in its Latin motto, Splendor sine occasu . Its name was chosen by Queen Victoria in 1858...

 operated by BC Ferries
BC Ferries
British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. or BC Ferries is a de facto Crown Corporation that provides all major passenger and vehicle ferry services for coastal and island communities in the Canadian province of British Columbia...

. The name for the class of ferry comes from the capacity which is approximately 100 cars. The ship was built by Allied Shipbuilders Ltd.
Allied Shipbuilders Ltd.
Allied Shipbuilders Ltd is a privately held shipbuilding and ship repairing company established in Canada in 1948.-Company profile:Founded in 1948 by Arthur McLaren , Allied Shipbuilders is one of the older continually operating commercial shipyards on the Pacific Coast of North America...

 in North Vancouver. The Century class ferry was intended to be a spartan, utilitarian ferry.

The only ferry of this class built to date is the Skeena Queen (built 1997). This ferry is named after the Skeena River
Skeena River
The Skeena River is the second longest river entirely within British Columbia, Canada . The Skeena is an important transportation artery, particularly for the Tsimshian and the Gitxsan - whose names mean "inside the Skeena River" and "people of the Skeena River" respectively, and also during the...

. It runs solely on the Swartz Bay
Swartz Bay, British Columbia
Swartz Bay, located on the north end of the Saanich Peninsula on Vancouver Island, is primarily known for being the location of one of BC Ferries' main terminals, the Swartz Bay Ferry Terminal. Swartz Bay was named after a man named Swart - i.e. it was meant to be Swart's Bay.-External links:...

-Saltspring Island
Saltspring Island
Saltspring Island is one of the Gulf Islands in the Strait of Georgia between mainland British Columbia, Canada and Vancouver Island. It is the largest, the most populous, and the most frequently visited of the Gulf Islands...

 (at Fulford Harbour
Fulford Harbour, British Columbia
Fulford Harbour is a residential community on the southeast side of Salt Spring Island, British Columbia, located near the island's southern end...

) route (except for a brief four-day trial on the Horseshoe Bay
Horseshoe Bay, West Vancouver, British Columbia
Horseshoe Bay is a West Vancouver community of about 1,000 permanent residents. Situated right on the western tip of West Vancouver, at the entrance to Howe Sound, the village marks the western end of Highway 1 on the British Columbia mainland....

 to Bowen Island
Bowen Island
Bowen Island, British Columbia, is an island municipality in Howe Sound, is part of the Greater Vancouver Regional District, and is an island included within the jurisdiction of the Islands Trust . Approximately 6 km wide by 12 km long, the island at its closest point is about 2 km...

 run from April 23 to April 26, 1998). In 1994 the 10 year plan of BC Ferries called for construction of 3 Century class ferries.

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
Mitsubishi
The Mitsubishi Group , Mitsubishi Group of Companies, or Mitsubishi Companies is a Japanese multinational conglomerate company that consists of a range of autonomous businesses which share the Mitsubishi brand, trademark and legacy...

 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 Century class design 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 & crew capacity: 600
  • Service Speed: 14.5 knots (23 km/h) at 3500 bhp
  • Installed Power: 5,040 hp (3.8 MW)


The Century class ferries have very little cabin space. This is because they are intended to be used on short commuter runs of less than a half hour duration where most of the passengers stay in their vehicles, however, Skeena Queen operates solely on the route between Swartz Bay and Fulford Harbour, which is a 20 minute crossing.

External links

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