The Howe Sound Queen is getting set to sail off into the sunset, and she could be yours for a bargain.
The 74m long ferry continues to serve the Crofton to Vesuvius route, but BC Ferries will retire the vessel on June 1st.
Now, a little more than a decade after a multi-million dollar retrofit to extend her life, the 55-year-old ship is up for auction.
According to the website GovDeals.ca, the current top bid is just $12,000.
The site says the vessel will be “kept warm and in operational state until ownership change.”
The Howe Sound Queen has a capacity of 300 passengers and 52 cars.
She was built in Sorel, Quebec in 1964, and bought by BC Ferries in 1971.
According to Westcoastferries.ca, the Howe Sound Queen was the first BC Ferry built in Canada outside of BC.
The vessel served the Bowen Island-Horseshoe Bay route until 1992.
“On that route she was affectionately (or not) nicknamed the “Hound” for her lack of amenities and poor handling of heavy seas,” a description reads.
After nearly five decades sailing in BC waters, she will be replaced by the MV Quinitsa, itself moved out of the Buckley Bay-Denman Island route by the arrival of a new cable ferry.
You can bid here for the Howe Sound Queen, and a little bit of BC Ferries history, until April 30th at 2 p.m. PST
Ben O'Hara
