S-class ferry
 Spirit of British Columbia
| |
| Class overview | |
|---|---|
| Operators | BC Ferries |
| Preceded by | Victoria Class, Cowichan Class |
| Built | 1992 to 1994 |
| In service | 1993 to present |
| Building | 2 |
| Completed | 2 |
| Active | 2 |
| General characteristics [1][2] | |
| Type | S class ferry |
| Displacement | 11,681 tonnes |
| Length | 167 m (547 ft 11 in) |
| Installed power | 21,394 hp (16 MW) |
| Propulsion | Four MAN-B&W 6L 40/54 |
| Speed | 19.5-knot (36.1 km/h) |
| Capacity |
|
S-Class ferries (also known as Spirit Class ferries or Super ferries) are RORO ferries operated by BC Ferries in British Columbia, Canada. They are the largest ferries in the BC Ferries fleet.[3]
History
There are two Spirit Class Ferries — Spirit of British Columbia (built 1993)[1] and Spirit of Vancouver Island (built 1994).[2] The vessels are largely the same in layout and characteristics and both ferries were built (using the same method) in separate parts by a variety of different shipbuilders.
The 200 ft. bow hull pieces were built at Allied Shipbuilders in North Vancouver, while the 340 ft. stern hull pieces were built at Yarrows Ltd. in Victoria. The pieces were joined in Esquimalt before being towed to Fraser Surrey Docks. There they were joined with the superstructure, which had been constructed in 3 pieces along the Fraser River in Delta. Once the superstructure was complete the ships were returned to Esquimalt for finishing touches. Each ship cost roughly $130 million and took two or three years to complete.[3][4]
Spirit of British Columbia underwent extensive internal renovations in 2005 costing roughly $14 million. In January 2006, similar renovations on Spirit of Vancouver Island were completed.[3][4]
Today
The vessels operate exclusively on the Highway 17 (Swartz Bay-Tsawwassen) route. Spirit of British Columbia is based at Tsawwassen,[3] while Spirit of Vancouver Island is based at Swartz Bay.[4] The ferries make 4 round trips between Vancouver Island and mainland BC per day.[3][4]
References
- ^ a b "Spirit of British Columbia profile from BC ferries". Retrieved 2012-06-20.
- ^ a b "Spirit of Vancouver Island profile from BC ferries". Retrieved 2012-06-20.
- ^ a b c d e "Spirit of British Columbia profile from westcoastferries.ca". Retrieved 2012-06-20.
- ^ a b c d "Spirit of Vancouver Island profile from westcoastferries.ca". Retrieved 2012-06-20.