MV Queen of Alberni

MV Queen of Alberni is a C-class ferry that operates between Tsawwassen and Duke Point in British Columbia as part of the BC Ferries fleet.

Construction and operation
Queen of Alberni was built by Vancouver Shipyards Co. Ltd. in North Vancouver, British Columbia in 1976. She joined two other C-class ferry ferries built in that year, Queen of Coquitlam and Queen of Cowichan. Two additional C-class ferries, Queen of Surrey and Queen of Oak Bay, were built in 1981.

Queen of Alberni differed in design from other Cowichan class vessels, as it only had one vehicle deck designed to carry semi-truck traffic between Vancouver and Victoria. The lack of an upper car deck limited its capacity at 145 vehicles. In 1984, the ship was stretched and lifted, gaining an upper car deck for non-overheight vehicles, leading to a new vehicle capacity of 280. Eventually the ferry's high semi-truck capacity made it a natural fit for the service's Mid-Island Express route between Tsawwassen and Departure Bay (later changing from Tsawwassen to Duke Point), which was intended as a high volume route of overheight vehicles. The Queen of Alberni services the Horseshoe Bay to Departure Bay route, also served by the Queen of Cowichan and the Queen of Oak Bay, as well as the Tsawwassen to Duke Point. In 1999, the ship underwent a further refit in Victoria.

The ship has a different system of ship evacuation since it carries fewer passengers. All of the lifejackets are stored in large containers scattered throughout the two passenger decks. The ship has two evacuation stations on each side of the passenger deck. The combined capacity of these four stations is 1,200.

In 2007, Queen of Alberni completed a 40 million dollar mid-life upgrade which will prepare the 31-year-old vessel for another 20 years of service.

Accidents
In 1979, the vessel ran aground in Active Pass. Many cars and trucks were damaged when the ship tilted over, and some flipped over completely. There were no major injuries, and the only casualty was a racehorse that was being transported.

Misfortune struck again in 1989 when ship smashed into the dock at the Departure Bay terminal in Nanaimo. Six people were injured.

Another accident would come on March 12, 1992. At around 8:00am Queen of Alberni left the Tsawwassen terminal with heavy fog and almost zero visibility. The Japanese bulk carrier Shinwa Maru left the Westshore Terminal No. 1 at nearby Roberts Bank, British Columbia at 7:40am. At 8:06am the two ships made radio contact after seeing each other on radar to arrange a safe passage. At 8:08am the two vessels collided. Queen of Alberni hit Shinwa Maru about 25 m aft of the bow, 3 m above the waterline, and at a 70-degree angle. Two people aboard Queen of Alberni were seriously injured, while none aboard Shinwa Maru were injured. Queen of Alberni had minor damage to the hull and some of the cafeteria equipment was displaced. Shinwa Maru, however, was damaged when the ferry penetrated the #1 cargo hold and ballast tanks.

On December 15, 2001, Queen of Alberni got caught in a heavy wind storm which turned a regular 2-hour crossing into a $7 1/2$-hour ordeal.