| File:QueenofChilliwack080812 018.JPG Queen of Chilliwack at Port Hardy on August 9, 2008 |
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| Career (Norway) | |
|---|---|
| Name: | Bastø I |
| Owner: | AS Alpha, Gokstad AS |
| Operator: | AS Alpha, Gokstad AS |
| Route: | Moss to Horten |
| Builder: | Framnæs Mekaniske Værksted |
| Yard number: | 190 |
| Completed: | 1978 |
| Fate: | sold to BC Ferries in 1991 |
| Career (Canada) | |
| Name: | Queen of Chilliwack |
| Namesake: | Chilliwack, British Columbia |
| Owner: | British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. |
| Operator: | British Columbia Ferry Services Inc. |
| Acquired: | 1991 |
| Status: | in active service, as of 2012[update] |
| General characteristics | |
| Class and type: | unclassified |
| Type: | ferry |
| Displacement: | 3447 |
| Length: | 114.58 m |
| Installed power: | 5,880 hp (4,380 kW) |
| Speed: | 12.5 knots (23.2 km/h) |
| Capacity: | 400 passengers and crew 115 cars |
The Queen of Chilliwack is a ferry owned by BC Ferries, built in Norway in 1978, then known as the Bastø I. The ferry route she was assigned to was from Moss, Norway to Horten, about 45 km south of the capital, Oslo.
In 1991 Bastø I was bought by BC Ferries. She had to travel 35 days on the trip to British Columbia from Norway, via the Panama Canal. When the vessel arrived she first went to Point Hope Shipyard for a major overhaul for the Tsawassen - Southern Gulf Islands ferry route in the Gulf of Georgia. She was then named Queen of Chilliwack. She later changed to the Earls Cove - Saltery Bay route.
In 1996 the Queen of Chilliwack was taken out of service for another overhaul, this time the ferry was assigned to the new mid-coast route called the Discovery Coast Passage which goes through Queen Charlotte Sound. Queen of Chilliwack would first start from Port Hardy and begin her journey up to the small First Nations communities of Namu, Bella Bella, Shearwater, Ocean Falls, and Bella Coola. In the winter the Chilliwack is often stored at Deas Dock, BC Ferries storage and refit facility, located along the Fraser River in Richmond, BC, while the larger ship, MV Northern Expedition handles both the Queen of Chilliwack's route, and the Port Hardy to Prince Rupert, BC route.
BC Ferries recently announced that the Queen of Chilliwack will be retired sometime between now and 2013, to be replaced by a new ship, the MV Northern Discovery, which has yet to be built. BC Ferries has not yet released plans on the new ship's design or size.
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