Queen of Oak Bay
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...
Queen of Oak Bay is a double-ended C class
C class ferry
The C-Class ferries are a class of five double-ended roll-on/roll-off ferries operated by BC Ferries in the Strait of Georgia in British Columbia, all constructed between 1976 and 1981. When the vessels were first built, they were the largest ships of their kind in the world...
roll-on/roll-off 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...
in the 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...
fleet, launched in 1981 at Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria, British Columbia
Victoria is the capital city of British Columbia, Canada and is located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island off Canada's Pacific coast. The city has a population of about 78,000 within the metropolitan area of Greater Victoria, which has a population of 360,063, the 15th most populous Canadian...
. The 139.29 metres (457 ft) long, 6,969-ton
Ton
The ton is a unit of measure. It has a long history and has acquired a number of meanings and uses over the years. It is used principally as a unit of weight, and as a unit of volume. It can also be used as a measure of energy, for truck classification, or as a colloquial term.It is derived from...
vessel has a capacity for 362 cars and over 1,500 passengers and crew. She normally operates on BC Ferries' 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 Departure Bay
Departure Bay, British Columbia
Departure Bay is a bay in central Nanaimo, British Columbia, on the east coast of Vancouver Island. The surrounding neighbourhood is also referred to as "Departure Bay"—once a settlement of its own, it was amalgamated into the City of Nanaimo in the 1970s .- Geography :The bay is framed to the...
(Nanaimo) route, part of the Trans-Canada Highway. She is named for the district of Oak Bay
Oak Bay, British Columbia
Oak Bay is a municipality located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, in the Canadian Province of British Columbia, Canada. A member municipality of the Capital Regional District, it is a community east of and adjacent to the City of Victoria...
.
Mid-life upgrade
The vessel underwent a $35 million mid-life upgrade in early 2005 at Vancouver Drydock Company in North Vancouver. The project prepared the vessel for another 20 years of service with upgrades to engineering components, lifesaving equipment and improvements to onboard services. Major maintenance work included steel replacement, piping and cable renewal, hull sandblasting and extensive painting. The vessel was outfitted with four state-of-the art marine evacuation systems, supplemented by two rescue boats and eight life rafts. She returned to service on June 13, 2005.2005 accident
On June 30, 2005, at about 10:10 in the morning (17:10 UTC), the Queen of Oak Bay lost power four minutes before she was to dock at the Horseshoe Bay terminal. The vessel became adrift, unable to change speed, but able to steer with the rudders. The horn was blown steadily and an announcement telling passengers to brace for impact was made minutes before the ship slowly ran into the nearby Sewell's Marina, where she destroyed or damaged 28 pleasure craft and subsequently went aground a short distance from the shore. No casualties or injuries were reported.On July 1, 2005, BC Ferries issued a statement that Transport Canada
Transport Canada
Transport Canada is the department within the government of Canada which is responsible for developing regulations, policies and services of transportation in Canada. It is part of the Transportation, Infrastructure and Communities portfolio...
, the Transportation Safety Board, and Lloyd's Register of Shipping were reviewing the control and mechanical systems on board to find a fault. An inspection revealed minimal damage to the ship, with only some minor damage to a metal fender, paint scrapes to the rudder, and some minor scrapes to one blade of a propeller.
On July 7, 2005, BC Ferries concluded that a missing cotter pin
Cotter pin
A split pin, also known in U.S. usage as a cotter pin or cotter key, is a metal fastener with two tines that are bent during installation, similar to a staple or rivet. Typically made of thick wire with a half-circular cross section, split pins come in multiple sizes and types.The British...
was to blame. The pin normally retained a nut on a linkage between an engine speed governor and the fuel control for one of the engines. Without the pin, the nut fell off and the linkage separated, causing the engine, clutch
Clutch
A clutch is a mechanical device which provides for the transmission of power from one component to another...
es, and propeller
Propeller
A propeller is a type of fan that transmits power by converting rotational motion into thrust. A pressure difference is produced between the forward and rear surfaces of the airfoil-shaped blade, and a fluid is accelerated behind the blade. Propeller dynamics can be modeled by both Bernoulli's...
s to increase in speed until overspeed safety devices tripped and shut down the entire propulsion
Marine propulsion
Marine propulsion is the mechanism or system used to generate thrust to move a ship or boat across water. While paddles and sails are still used on some smaller boats, most modern ships are propelled by mechanical systems consisting a motor or engine turning a propeller, or less frequently, in jet...
system. The faulty speed governor had been serviced 17 days before the incident during a $35-million upgrade and the cotter pin was not properly replaced at that time.
The vessel was quickly repaired and tested at sea trial
Sea trial
A sea trial is the testing phase of a watercraft . It is also referred to as a "shakedown cruise" by many naval personnel. It is usually the last phase of construction and takes place on open water, and can last from a few hours to many days.Sea trials are conducted to measure a vessel’s...
s. She returned to regular service on July 8, 2005.
A complete investigation report consisting of a 14-page Divisional Inquiry and a 28-page Engineering Incident Investigation was finally released in September 2006.
Sister ships
- Queen of AlberniQueen of AlberniM/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:...
- Queen of CoquitlamQueen of CoquitlamM/V Queen of Coquitlam is a C class vessel in the BC Ferries fleet, launched in 1976. She first operated on BC Ferries' Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay route. For most of her life, she has been a replacement/relief vessel on all the major routes serving the Greater Vancouver Regional District...
- Queen of CowichanQueen of CowichanM/V Queen of Cowichan is a BC Ferry vessel, built in Victoria, British Columbia in 1976. It joined the other two C-class ferries built that year, the Queen of Alberni and the Queen of Coquitlam, and was followed by the Queen of Surrey and Queen of Oak Bay. The ship, like all C-class ferries, is...
- Queen of SurreyQueen of SurreyM/V Queen of Surrey is a double-ended C class roll-on/roll-off ferry in the BC Ferries fleet. The long, 6969 ton vessel has a capacity for 362 cars and over 1,500 passengers and crew. She normally operates on BC Ferries' Horseshoe Bay to Langdale route...