MV Northern Expedition
Encyclopedia
M/V
Ship prefix
A ship prefix is a combination of letters, usually abbreviations, used in front of the name of a civilian or naval ship.Prefixes for civilian vessels may either identify the type of propulsion, such as "SS" for steamship, or purpose, such as "RV" for research vessel. Civilian prefixes are often...
Northern Expedition is a RORO
RORO
Roll-on/roll-off ships are vessels designed to carry wheeled cargo such as automobiles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, trailers or railroad cars that are driven on and off the ship on their own wheels...
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...
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...
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...
, Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. It sails daily on the Inside Passage
Inside Passage
The Inside Passage is a coastal route for oceangoing vessels along a network of passages which weave through the islands on the Pacific coast of North America. The route extends from southeastern Alaska, in the United States, through western British Columbia, in Canada, to northwestern Washington...
route connecting Prince Rupert and Port Hardy.
History
On August 18, 2006 BC Ferries awarded the contract to build a replacement vessel for the Queen of Prince Rupert to Flensburger Schiffbau-GesellschaftFlensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft
Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft is a German shipbuilding company located in Flensburg. The company is trading as Flensburger and commonly abbrevated FSG.-History:...
shipyard in Flensburg
Flensburg
Flensburg is an independent town in the north of the German state of Schleswig-Holstein. Flensburg is the centre of the region of Southern Schleswig...
, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
(the same shipyard awarded the contract for the 3 new Coastal class ferries). Shortly thereafter it was determined that the new ship would be named the Northern Expedition and that BC Ferries' other northern vessel (the recently purchased Sonia, the replacement for the sunken Queen of the North
M/V Queen of the North
M/V Queen of the North was a RORO ferry built by AG Weser of Germany and operated by BC Ferries, which ran along a scenic 18-hour route along the British Columbia Coast of Canada between Port Hardy and Prince Rupert, British Columbia, a route also known as the Inside Passage. On March 22, 2006,...
) would be named the Northern Adventure.
The keel of the vessel was laid on June 16, 2008 and it was launched on September 25, 2008.
Sea trials took place at Baltic Sea east from Danish island Bornholm between January 7-9, 2009. The vessel left Germany on January 30, 2009 bound for B.C. via the Panama Canal
Panama Canal
The Panama Canal is a ship canal in Panama that joins the Atlantic Ocean and the Pacific Ocean and is a key conduit for international maritime trade. Built from 1904 to 1914, the canal has seen annual traffic rise from about 1,000 ships early on to 14,702 vessels measuring a total of 309.6...
. The Northern Expedition completed its 9,900 nautical mile journey on March 6, 2009, passing Victoria and Vancouver before arriving in Departure Bay at Nanaimo for post-voyage inspection.
The Northern Expedition entered service on May 18, 2009 along the Inside Passage
Inside Passage
The Inside Passage is a coastal route for oceangoing vessels along a network of passages which weave through the islands on the Pacific coast of North America. The route extends from southeastern Alaska, in the United States, through western British Columbia, in Canada, to northwestern Washington...
route between Prince Rupert and Port Hardy. It joined the Northern Adventure in BC Ferries' northern fleet and allowed for the retirement of the Queen of Prince Rupert.
Amenities
The Northern Expeditions four passenger decks feature:- 55 staterooms
- the Canoe Cafe
- the Vista Restaurant
- the reserved seating Aurora Lounge
- the Raven Lounge, which features 3 large-screen TV's
- the Passages Gift Shop
- a children's play area
- multiple non-reserved seating lounges