Northern Adventure set to get back on schedule after last weeks troubles

At 11 pm tonight, the North coast’s only ferry at the moment will resume its service, with a sailing for the Queen Charlotte Islands.

It will be the first sailing since last weeks troubles at Bella Bella, where the vessel was forced to remain at anchor after engine oil contamination rendered the vessel dead in the water.

The BC Ferries website has the vessel due out at 11 tonight, returning to Prince Rupert at 5:30 on Monday, a second sailing will take place again Monday night at 11 with a return to Rupert at 5:30 Tuesday. The vessel then has a quick turn around with a scheduled departure on the southern route to Port Hardy at 6:30 pm.

While things seem to be returning back to a sense of normalcy for the Ferry Corporation, the fall out will no doubt be heard for the weeks and months to come. Residents of the Queen Charlotte Islands, weary of the numerous service interruptions over the last year are less than happy with their service and particularly concerned about the way that the latest disruption has been handled by the Ferry Corporation.

While the NDP MLA for the region and ferries critic Gary Coons, who has been busy receiving calls from angry constituents, once again has called for the provincial government to be more proactive and take a renewed interest in the provinces marine highway system.

The state of the Northern Adventure was Friday’s front page story in the Daily News as they updated readers on the troubles of the day’s just past. The Queen Islands Observer had the view from the other side of Hecate Strait posted on their website this weekend, which we also provide below.

STRANDED PASSENGERS TO BE FLOWN OFF STRICKEN FERRY
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Friday January 4, 2008
Page one

After spending two days on board the Northern Adventure, B.C. Ferries arranged yesterday to fly out the majority of its passengers so they could complete their journey to Port Hardy.

"There were 11 customers who elected to stay with the vessel and they will sail with the vessel back to Prince Rupert when it gets underway," said Deborah Marshall, B.C. Ferries spokesperson.

"They were either from the Prince Rupert area or have cars on board and want to stay with the ship."

Both the return sailing from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert and the trip from Prince Rupert to Skidegate have been cancelled.

There were 57 passengers sailing from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy when the ship stalled outside Bella Bella. As of today at press time, the ferry was still there.

The new ferry left Prince Rupert Tuesday night, however its engines performed an automatic shutdown in McLoughlin Bay after a crew member accidentally added contaminated oil containing water to the engine.

In order to resolve the problem, the lubricating oil was changed, however there wasn't enough fresh oil onboard the vessel to completely refill the engine, Marshall said.

Once they realized this problem, the engineers on board started using the onboard purification system to clean some of the contaminated oil.

"It is a substantial amount, about 2,000 litres they have to purify. It does take hours to do that," said Marshall.

However, it seems they were also unable to purify enough oil and B.C. Ferries is now in the process of delivering fresh oil to the ship in Bella Bella.

Once the oil arrives and is added, the ship will sail back to Prince Rupert.

B.C. Ferries other northern vessel, the Queen of Prince Rupert, is currently out of service and undergoing a refit so it wasn't available to pick up the lost runs.

It should not be necessary to take the Northern Adventure out of the water and it should be able to return to service once enough oil is available to fill the engine, said Marshall. However, until the vessel gets back underway service to Haida Gwaii and along the Inside Passage has been suspended.

B.C. Ferries expects to announce resumed service and a new schedule this evening.
It's been a rocky winter season for the new vessel.

The Daily News has had reports that the vessel encountered difficult weather - gale force winds with large waves - on a sailing just before New Year.

The Northern Adventure was bought for $51 million to replace the Queen of the North after that vessel rammed into Gil Island and sank in March 2006, killing two people.

After a $9-million refit at Victoria Shipyards last year, the Greek-built Sonia was rechristened the M/V Northern Adventure.

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Northern Adventure to head to Rupert Saturday

Queen Charlotte Islands Observer

Friday, January 4, 2008

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By Alex Rinfret--Islanders started the new year with yet another suspension of ferry service, with the Northern Adventure stalled in Bella Bella after contaminated oil was mistakenly added to the main engine tanks on Jan. 2.

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By Friday afternoon (Jan. 4), BC Ferries announced that clean oil was on its way to the stricken vessel and that it would be heading to Prince Rupert sometime Saturday. The ferry was expected to leave Rupert for the Charlottes someday late Saturday night (Jan. 5), weather depending.

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If the ferry does arrive on Jan. 6, it will be the first time islanders have seen the Northern Adventure since 2007. Its scheduled Jan. 1 arrival at the Skidegate terminal and departure were cancelled due to bad weather, and the Jan. 3 arrival and departure was cancelled because it was in Bella Bella.

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The service suspension left many islanders stuck in Prince Rupert, and visitors stuck on the islands. Tlell residents Kris and Ralph Leach, who left the islands on Dec. 31 for what they had planned would be a three-day trip, didn't realize anything was wrong until they arrived at the Prince Rupert terminal Thursday and didn't see the ferry.

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Terminal staff explained what had happened, and the Leaches found a room at a bed and breakfast. Ms Leach said there were several other stranded islanders staying there.

"I'm actually really lucky," she said. "I'm fortunate in a way, because I have Visa. I'm just thinking about people who have no access to cash."

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BC Ferries did not offer to pay for accommodation, Ms Leach said, but told them they could submit their receipts and may be compensated later, with BC Ferries deciding on the merits of each individual case.

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MLA Gary Coons said he has been receiving calls from many stranded passengers who were upset about the lack of information from BC Ferries.

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"I've had calls from people trying to get to the Charlottes and they can't get any information," he said. "Some people are lucky enough to have a place to stay because they have family, but some people are returning from holidays and have no money."

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Mr. Coons said he was hearing "major concern, confusion and anger" about the situation. He said islanders and other passengers have been let down by BC Ferries and that it was time for the government to step in and play a bigger role.

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"Again, it's a real tough one but number one, I would think that this is a result of the privatization of our marine highway," he said.

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Meanwhile, Ms Leach said she was making the best of her unexpected extra few days on the mainland."I said on Wednesday, oh, I'm really not ready to go home," she said with a laugh. "You have to be careful what you wish for."

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She also suggested that BC Ferries freeze ferry fares for islanders in recognition of all the delays and service suspensions we experience.

“An honest mistake”

While we were tempted to dig up the theme to Gilligan's Island (just sit right back and you'll hear a tale....) we suspect that most of the passengers and crew of the Northern Adventure probably wouldn't appreciate it, besides the latest troubles for BC Ferries were not weather related but described by the Ferry Corporation as "an honest mistake", so the facts, we'll just stick to the facts.

BC Ferries continues to deal with the impact of engine troubles that developed this week on the vessel, when engine oil became contaminated with waste oil that contained water.

It's a situation that arose while the Northern Adventure was at sea earlier this week, resulting in the only vessel on the North coast at the moment to stop dead in the water and continues to play havoc with the Northern Service schedule.

While the Northern Adventure’s 52 passengers for the most part are no longer sight seeing on the Central Coast (11 chose to remain with their vehicles rather than take a flight out of Bella Bella). Service has still been listed as suspended on the BC Ferries website, with no update on when the resumption of service will begin.

With the Northern Adventure sidelined indefinitely, the North coast is once again finds itself left without ferry service, a situation that should once again provide for many questions directed to the Ferry Service.

(Click here, for BC Ferries Service Notices for further updates)

The story has of course been the main focus of the provinces news organizations, with numerous reports on the latest bit of bad publicity for the Ferry Corporation, some of which can be found below.

Vancouver Sun--Bella Bella residents grounded again

Globe and Mail--Ferry passengers back where they began

Vancouver Province--56 stranded on ferry

The Daily News provided some background details on the situation in the Thursday paper.

Ferry, passengers stranded far from home
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Thursday, January 03, 2008

Page one

The Northern Adventure was left dead in the water yesterday after engine trouble disabled the new vessel on the Central Coast.

As a result, B.C. Ferries is trying to fly the 52 passengers out of the remote community.
According to Deborah Marshall, B.C. Ferries spokesperson, the vessel was travelling the Inside Passage when its engine oil became contaminated with waste oil that contained water.

The ship left Prince Rupert at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday and sailed through the night, arriving in Bella Bella at 6 a.m. Wednesday when the trouble was discovered.

"They are at anchor. What the engineers have done is drained the contaminated lubricant and they are in the process of filling it up with fresh oil right now," she said yesterday.

They had hoped to get the vessel back on course by 6 p.m. Wednesday evening but as of Thursday morning at press time, the new vessel was still at anchor.

As of this morning, the ferry passengers had been on board the vessel more than 40 hours.
Marshall added that the crew was trying to make the journey as easy as possible on the 52 passengers who are now on a two-day trip.

"We certainly understand we have inconvenienced them, so we are trying to make it as comfortable as possible," she said. "We do apologize for this."

The vessel was expected to turn around in Port Hardy and head back to Prince Rupert Wednesday evening.

The Northern Adventure was bought for $51 million to replace the Queen of the North after that vessel rammed into Gil Island and sank in March 2006, killing two people.

After a $9-million refit at Victoria Shipyards last year, the Greek-built replacement ship was rechristened the M/V Northern Adventure.

Marshall describes the incident as an honest mistake and says an oil change is expected to be complete by later today, at which time the Northern Adventure will begin its return journey to Prince Rupert.

More delays on the return of the Northern Adventure

BC Ferries latest addition to the fleet needs a bit more time in the make up room before she can return to her duties on the North Coast.

The Northern Adventure which was supposed to return to service on November 21st and take over both northern routes for the winter has had its return date pushed back to the 28th.

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Since its arrival on the North Coast earlier this year, the ferry has been in and out of minor and major refits, as the Ferry Corporation tries to take care of a number of issues that developed upon introduction to the northern routes.

The Northern Adventure is set to take over for the Queen of Prince Rupert on the winter sailings, which will include the open water crossings to the Queen Charlottes. A transit that many think might be a bit of challenge for the new vessel during the notoriously unpredictable winter months.

The Ferry has to wait for parts required for the ships bow thrusters to arrive from Europe.

The Queen Charlotte Islands Observer has more details on the refit of the vessel, as well as some background on some recent rough crossings by the Queen of Prince Rupert, when the ferry ran into some extremely rough conditions.

Northern Adventure delayed a week
Queen Charlotte Islands Observer
November 23, 2007

The Queen of Prince Rupert will have to keep on sailing for an extra week before going south for its refit, because the Northern Adventure isn't yet ready to fill in.BC Ferries spokesperson Deborah Marshall said the Northern Adventure's return to service has been delayed for one week while it waits for two parts for its bow thruster to arrive from Europe.

The newer ship had been scheduled to take over both northern routes for the winter on Nov. 21, but now it will start Nov. 28, with its first appearance at the Skidegate terminal scheduled for Nov. 29, Ms Marshall said.

The Northern Adventure has had lots of work done during its latest refit, she said, including cabin floor replacements, emergency lighting, plumbing, and generators. A third radar system was added to the ship for redundancy, and the refit crew has reconditioned the gyroscope on one of the ship's stabilizers.

Ms Marshall said the gyroscope controls the ship's "stability response". The Northern Adventure, which is only a few years old, meets a higher stability standard than the 41-year-old QPR, Ms Marshall added. Some passengers have complained of a rolling motion on the Northern Adventure, and Ms Marshall said that what they are noticing is a different response to ocean conditions.

"It reacts quicker to waves," she said. "The ship may roll in more wave conditions."Meanwhile, the QPR got caught in the tail end of a very rough storm last week, and when it arrived in Prince Rupert the off-duty crew left the ship, but Ms Marshall said this was simply so that they could get some much-needed sleep.

"They had been up all night," she said. "They needed to get a proper sleep."

BC Ferries also received some complaints from customers about an earlier rough sailing, between Prince Rupert and Skidegate the night of Nov. 4. Marine superintendent Steve Poole talked to the northern Ferry Advisory Committee last week about the process Ferries staff go through before deciding whether to sail or stay tied up, Ms Marshall said.

In this case, staff had checked and double-checked the marine forecast, but the forecast proved wrong and the ship encountered severe weather conditions in Hecate Strait, which led to some passenger discomfort.

Northern Adventure delayed in transit north

BC Ferries is listing a service delay for the Northern Adventure on its June 17th run from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert.

The anticipated arrival time at Prince Rupert now is 3 am on Monday morning, a delay of some 4 and a half hours, from the normal arrival time of 10:30 pm.

The Northern Adventure has been plagued by a few operating issues upon its arrival on the North Coast and recently underwent a sudden refit to correct many of the problems that had popped up.

With the latest delay called an operational issue, it would seem that perhaps all the bugs have still to be worked out on the newest addition to the BC Ferries fleet.

Here’s the official word from the BC Ferries website.

Port Hardy to Prince Rupert Operational Delay
Posted June 17, 2007
June 17th 02:00 am

Please be advised that the Northern Adventure travelling from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert on Sunday June 17th may be delayed approximately five and a half hours due to an operational issue.There is no revised check in time at Port Hardy.

The estimated time of arrival into Prince Rupert is Monday June 18th at 03:00 am.

For updated sailing information please check our Current Conditions page, or call toll free 1-888-BC-FERRY (223-3779).

We apologize for any inconvenience experienced as a result of this delay.

Apprehensive tourist industry awaits Northern Adventure refit

Gary Coons, the MLA for the North Coast and NDP ferry critic, doesn’t really need much help in finding difficulties with BC Ferries, but when the issues present themselves as front page stories of numerous troubles then his job gets significantly easier.

Coons has been quick to express concern over the upcoming revisited refit of the BC Ferry Northern Adventure, which will be out of service on the North coast from May 9-May 19.

With a lengthy list of constituent concerns about the ferry introduced to the north coast less than a month ago, the MLA is suggesting that BC Ferries wasn’t properly prepared to bring the ferry into service.

With last years tourist season left in such disarray due to the sinking of the Queen of the North, Coons is finding that a sense of apprehension is forming again along the coast about potential limits on service.

The Daily News provided front page exposure to the story of the Northern Adventure and the MLA’s concerns over the state of ferry services on the North coast.

ADVENTURE IS SHORT-LIVED FOR NEW NORTH COAST FERRY
A matter of weeks after arriving, the Northern Adventure is in need of a refit
By Leanne Ritchie
The Daily News
Monday, April 30, 2007
Pages one and three

After less than a month on her North Coast runs, the M/V Northern Adventure is being pulled out of service for a refit.

In a press release sent out Friday, B. C. Ferries said the vessel will be pulled out of service from May 9 to 19 and refitted at B. C. Ferries' Deas Pacific Marine Facility in Richmond.

While the company tried to categorize the refit as one that simply addresses "some issues following the initial introduction to the fleet," North Coast MLA Gary Coons said the problems are quite serious.

"The release makes it sound like the ship needs a new coat of paint, but it's more serious than that." said Coons, who is the NDP's ferry critic.

"The ship has apparently experienced problems with its electrical systems, its alarm systems aren't working properly, the public address system has experienced failures, and fire equipment and life raft systems still need work.

"There's also no working elevator or escalator."

"These aren't benign "issues"," said Coons. "They're serious safety concerns."

There has also been the "issue" of the sewage system backing up, which is not just disgusting, but a legitimate health concern, Coons said.

The problems have been so prevalent that the new vessel has been nicknamed the Northern Mis-Adventure by some passengers.

The ship only managed three round-trips to the Queen Charlottes and one Port Hardy/Prince Rupert trip before teething problems emerged and the ferry was docked in Prince Rupert for 30 hours while technicians scrambled to fix problems.

Coons said the news that the Northern Adventure is heading back for a refit is a major embarrassment for B. C. Ferries, and shows they didn't properly plan for the transition period for the vessel.

Communities up and down the coast and on the North Island already went through one summer tourist season with just one vessel on the route. As the 2007 summer season approaches, tour operators are now apprehensive about limited service again, said Coons.

"This is a serious blunder that could have serious ramifications for coastal residents who depend on their marine highway system."

The Northern Adventure was bought for $51 million after the Queen of the North rammed into Gil Island and sank 13 months ago, killing two people.

In March, after a $9 million refit at Victoria shipyards, the Greek-built ship, which holds 600 passengers and 101 vehicles, was rechristened Northern Adventure.

The vessel, which was built in 2004, was greeted in April by northern tourism operators as the saviour of this year's tourist season.

Coons has been getting anonymous calls from staff about safety management, training, and the variances that were approved by Transport Canada to allow the vessel to sail.

The Queen of Prince Rupert just finished a five-week refit and the vessel is now fully ready to return to service as the summer season approaches.

During the refit, the North Coast will once again be served solely by the Queen of Prince Rupert.

"We need to ensure our vessels are safe and affordable and reliable," said Coons.

"And there are questions about the Queen of the North being rushed out of refit."

The Northern Adventure is expected to return to service May 20.

Northern Misadventures

The Northern Adventure, BC Ferries shiny new vessel for the north coast is about to go south. It is to be pulled from service from May 9-19 and banished into refit, this after less than a month on the job.

With a number of problems cropping up on recent sailings, the Ferry Corporation has decided to return the vessel to southern waters and a refit pit stop at Deas Pacific Marine, hopefully to clear up all the annoying problems that have tarnished the launch of the cruise ship like vessel serving the North Coast.

The Ferry Corporation issued a press release on Friday, outlining its plans and trying its best to make an unwanted situation sound positive.

From fire extinguisher problems to malfunctioning elevators, silent PA systems to backed up toilets and sinks, the adventure on the Northern Adventure seems to be an ability to deal with far too many glitches on a vessel that holds its passengers captive for over 18 hours.

The CBC website had details on the numerous maladies of the ship and how they have impacted on BC Ferries this month.

New ferry needs work, faces refit

Last Updated: Friday, April 27, 2007 6:38 PM PT

CBC News

Less than a month after its introduction, BC Ferries' newest ship is being pulled from service for a 10-day refit to deal with a host of onboard problems.

The MV Northern Adventure, which replaced the Queen of the North on the northern service, made its maiden voyage under BC Ferries colours on March 31.

It had been compared to a cruise ship and was billed as the centrepiece of the corporation's plans for an enhanced travel service along the B.C. coast.

But there have been a host of problems reported with the new vessel.

BC Ferries had to apologize to a passenger who had just had knee surgery because the elevators, the escalators and even a robotic wheelchair didn't work and she had a long and painful trek up and down the stairs during her trip.

She also reported problems with the public address system, the heat in some cabins and problems with toilets and phones. Another passenger told CBC Radio that there have been problems with the alarm system and that used water from the sinks and showers backed up and flooded the galley during her trip. Earlier, there had been a 24-hour delay on a southbound voyage to Port Hardy, which included a fire extinguisher on the vehicle deck that came loose and released dry chemicals, setting off the smoke alarm.

In a release Friday, the corporation said, "the Northern Adventure has been experiencing some issues following its initial introduction." The ship will be out of service from May 9-19, undergoing a refit at the Deas Pacific Marine facility on the Fraser River in Richmond.

The northern routes will be served during that time by the Queen of Prince Rupert, which has just undergone a five-week refit.

Rolling along with the Northern Adventure

It's been a bit of a rough debut for the latest vessel in the BC Ferry fleet, the Northern Adventure which is sailing our waters on a regular schedule now, has had a few operational problems highlighted in the media lately.

Most of which seem to be more prevalent on the Rupert to Queen Charlotte run rather than the southbound journey which ends at Port Hardy.

The latest reports come from the Queen Charlotte Islands Observer, which recounts some of the rolling action on the seas that has made a few of the passengers a little uncomfortable.

It makes for a situation that is giving Islanders cause to suggest that once the new line of Ferries arrive on the north coast, the Northern Adventure should become a dedicated vessel for the Port hardy run, leaving the Charlottes to a new ferry which it is no doubt their hope will handle the open waters a little more comfortably.

New ferry making passengers queasy
The Queen Charlotte Islands Observer
April 23, 2007

A couple of islanders who travelled on the Northern Adventure this past weekend say the ship has a particular rolling motion which seems to cause more queasiness and nausea than the Queen of Prince Rupert.

Masset mayor Barry Pages said he returned on the weather-delayed run Monday morning (April 16) and found that the new ship rolled a lot from side-to-side. He also said the cabins were comfortable and the trip was a bit faster than before.

Port Clements councillor Urs Thomas agreed, saying that the Northern Adventure doesn’t seem to handle the waves in Hecate Strait as well as the QPR. He also described a side-to-side wallowing motion rather than the up-and-down forward motion passengers are used to.

The Northern Adventure is supposed to be dedicated to the Rupert-Skidegate route starting in 2009, when a brand-new vessel comes on board to serve the Inside Passage route (the Northern Expedition).

But Mr. Thomas said it might make more sense, given the Northern Adventure’s handling of Hecate Strait, to put that ship on the Inside Passage run and put the new ship on our route.

Northern Adventure leaves a few wanting a much better travel experience

The folks at BC Ferries will need a bit more than polish for the shiny new ferry, to try and deflect one journalists account of a recent trip on the newly installed Northern Adventure.

Heather Ramsey, writing for the tyee website, was aboard a rather troubled journey from Skidegate to Rupert over the Easter Weekend. Her account of extensive travel delays, alarming ship alarms during the night, frustrated ferry workers and less than edible food from the galley, is not something we'll be finding in a travel brochure we are sure.

Having arrived on the north coast with a colourful history from her days as the Sonia X, spanning the seas from the Caribbean to Spain, the Northern Adventure may be preparing to add to her legacy by providing the locals to share tales of their own.

From self discharging fire extinguishers, to a giant sucking sound in the middle of the night, her journey sounds like possibly the worst travel experience that BC Ferries might wish to offer and something that local tourism operators might wish to keep an eye on.

After all, when you've spent millions of dollars to purchase, refit and re brand your newest addition, to have it become known as the VOMIT COMET, is probably not part of the company plan.

Every new venture will take time to work out the bugs we guess, but somehow we suspect that the Northern Adventure had best fast track the shakedown phase of operations, lest a few more
"Comet" stories make their way to the mainstream.

It's shiny and new, and apparently not working so well!

A few growing pains for the new Northern Adventure as it begins its time on the North Coast.

The latest addition to the BC Ferry fleet and the vessel that Prince Rupert has been patiently waiting for since last years Queen of the North tragedy, is apparently having a few technical problems as they say. Resulting in service disruptions for the North coast once again.

On Friday service to Port Hardy was delayed when problems on a recent run to the Charlottes proved to be rather troublesome for the Ferry Corporation.

In what reads like a chapter of Lemony Snicket's unfortunate events, a number of strange occurrences led to the Ferry having to stay tied up in Rupert for thirty hours this weekend, while technicians worked out some of the bugs in the new vessel.

The vessel was reported to be set to sail on Saturday evening at 8pm and according to the BC Ferries website now meets all of Transport Canada's requirements.

Glitches delay new northern ferry; expected to sail again tonight

Judith Lavoie, Times Colonist

Published: Saturday, April 07, 2007

The Northern Adventure, B.C. Ferries’ replacement for the ill-fated Queen of the North, was stuck in dock in Prince Rupert for more than 30 hours this weekend while technicians scrambled to fix a series of glitches which surfaced on the way from the Queen Charlotte Islands to Prince Rupert.

The refitted ship, which went into service on the Inside Passage between Skidegate, Prince Rupert and Port Hardy March 31, had 69 passengers booked on the 1 p.m. Friday run from Prince Rupert to Port Hardy.

“Customers were updated through the afternoon and, quite late last night, we determined the ship was not going to sail. We offered to pay for their accommodation for the night,” said B.C. Ferries spokeswoman Deborah Marshall.

The Northern Adventure was finally given Transport Canada clearance late Saturday afternoon and was due to sail to Port Hardy at 8 p.m.

Since going into service, the ship had done three round trips to the Queen Charlottes and one Port Hardy/Prince Rupert trip, but teething problems emerged Friday.

The sailing was already delayed because of bad weather, Marshall said.

Then, in an alarming string of events, a fire extinguisher was dislodged from its rack and, when it hit the car deck, it released dry chemicals. “Unfortunately, the powder activated the smoke sensor and that caused the general alarm to go off throughout the ship,” Marshall said.

It took between five and 10 minutes for the crew to identify the problem and switch off the alarms, she said.

Next, the grey water tank — which collects water from sinks and showers — overflowed and the water got into the galley. “We had to shut down the food services to make sure everything in the galley was clean,” Marshall said.

The most persistent problem came when the public address system broke down. That kept the ferry in dock once it reached Prince Rupert as Transport Canada demands ferries have a way of communicating with passengers.

“Sometimes you do get bugs with new vessels, this was just unfortunate timing,” Marshall said.

At the Crest Prince Rupert Hotel, where some ferry passengers stayed, a clerk said most were resigned to the delay. “There are not too many other options for getting out of Prince Rupert,” she said.

The Northern Adventure, formerly the MV Sonia, was bought by B.C. Ferries for $51 million after the Queen of the North rammed into Gil Island and sank 13 months ago.

In March, after a $9 million refit at Victoria Shipyards, the Greek-built ship, which holds 600 passengers and 101 vehicles, was rechristened Northern Adventure. The vessel, which was built in 2004, was greeted last week by northern tourism operators as the saviour of this year’s tourist season. Tourism suffered last year with the loss of the Queen of the North.

Back in service, but not quite on schedule.

The debut of the Northern Adventure took place this past weekend, with the newest addition to the BC Ferry fleet making folks feel right at home by heading out of Port Hardy three hours late on Saturday night.

King Lee delivered a special to The Globe and Mail, published on their website today, detailing his early shipboard experience aboard BC Ferries brand new acquisition.

Lee reported that the cause for the delay was never actually made public, with a rather mysterious “the crew is checking things out” offered up for a reason, which may be something for BC Ferries to look at as far as passenger awareness goes, Not all of the 74 staterooms were available for occupancy on the debut journey, leaving a few folks to check out the comfort of the reclining chairs or spending the delay watching the Canucks Flames game on the LCD screens which have been added to the fleet.

The article ends with the vessel sailing out of Port Hardy at 9pm, whether they made up the three hours as promised only the crew and passengers know for sure.

Replacement for sunken ferry gets off to slow start
KING LEE
Special to The Globe and Mail
Monday, April 2, 2007

PRINCE RUPERT, B.C. -- The maiden voyage of the Queen of the North's replacement got off to a bumpy start this weekend. But after departing three hours late, MV Northern Adventure glided through smooth waters from Port Hardy to Prince Rupert.

Northern Adventure, built in Greece in 2002, has spent three years as a charter cruise ship.
It replaces the Queen of the North, which sank in Wright Sound on March 22, 2006, after hitting Gil Island shortly after midnight.

The vessel had travelled about 130 kilometres south from Prince Rupert when the accident occurred. Ninety-nine passengers and crew were rescued, but two passengers are missing and presumed drowned.

One passenger on the replacement vessel didn't realize he was a part of B.C. Ferries history when he drove on board Saturday. "It was neat," Michael Scott said. "It was unexpected."
Mr. Scott said he was impressed with Northern Adventure's amenities. "It looks like it's a converted cruise ship," he said.

After a short ribbon-cutting ceremony Saturday with B.C. Tourism Minister Stan Hagen, 144 passengers and 39 vehicles -- the vessel's listed capacity is 600 passengers and 101 vehicles -- got onboard shortly before the scheduled 6 p.m. departure only to learn there would be a three-hour delay.

Mark Stefanson, the ferry corporation's executive director of public affairs, said the holdup was due to the crew checking things out. He did not elaborate.

Captain Trafford Taylor, a B.C. Ferries executive vice-president, said the purchase and renovation of the vessel amounted to about $100-million. It is expected to be reassigned to the Queen Charlotte Islands-Prince Rupert route in 2009 and replaced on the Port Hardy-Prince Rupert run by a new B.C. Ferries vessel, the Northern Expedition.

The delay announcement was accompanied by an offer of free meals for everyone onboard Northern Adventure while still docked at the Bear Cove terminal in Port Hardy and assurance that the three hours would be made up during the scheduled 16-hour journey.

Those in the two lounges with LCD high-definition television sets were able to watch the final period of the NHL game between the Pittsburgh Penguins and Toronto Maple Leafs followed by the game between the Calgary Flames and Vancouver Canucks.

Not all of the 74 staterooms were ready for occupancy on the inaugural run, a situation that did not sit well with Darryn Ludwikowski of Campbell River, who was travelling with two children and was unable to secure one despite booking the trip 10 days earlier. They had to spend the night on some of the 480 reclining chairs or the carpeted floor.

Inside cabins cost $75 while outside cabins were going for $80 a trip. Four luxury cabins at the bow of the Northern Adventure with double beds and televisions were available for $200 a night.

When an announcement was made shortly before 8:30 p.m. that the vessel would get under way "in a few minutes," only one woman in the main TV lounge stood up and raised her arms in a mock cheer.

Shortly after 8:45, the ship's captain, Rory McKonkey, thanked those on board for their patience and suggested everyone cheer for the Canucks, who were down by three goals to the Flames at the time.

At 9 p.m., Northern Adventure inched away from the pier without much reaction from those in the main lounge. The passengers were a little more excited when Vancouver's Brendan Morrison scored later.

Mr. Ludwikowski was taking the inaugural run to visit his father in Prince Rupert.
"I'm impressed," he said when asked for his thoughts on the new ferry.