MV Northern Adventure

300px M/V Northern Adventure
Career (Bahamas)	60px
Name:	M/V Sonia (Adamantios Korais during construction)
Owner:	Tomasos Transporto & Tourism (TTT Lines) Naples, Italy
Operator:	International Shipping Partners
Port of registry:	Nassau
Route:	Port of Spain, Trinidad, and Scarborough, Tobago
Builder:	Atsalakis Yards Perama, Greece
Launched:	June 2004
Acquired:	26 July 2004
Fate:	Sold to BC Ferries for €35.7 million, or $50.6 million CAD.
Career (Canada)
Name:	M/V Northern Adventure
Owner:	BC Ferries
Port of registry:	Victoria
Route:	Inside Passage route between Port Hardy and Prince Rupert, British Columbia
Acquired:	2006
In service:	March 31, 2007 to the present
Out of service:	December 18, 2006 to March 2007 ($18-million refit and interior upgrade)
General characteristics
Class and type:	RORO ferry
Tonnage:	9,925 gross register tons (GRT)
Displacement:	5,983
Length:	117 m
Beam:	20.0 m
Draft:	4.7 m
Propulsion:	Two MaK 16M32C
Speed:	20.3 knots
Capacity:	Passengers: 600 74 staterooms Vehicles 101 cars

M/V Northern Adventure is a RORO ferry operated by BC Ferries. It sails two routes: the scenic Inside Passage route between Port Hardy and Prince Rupert and the Queen Charlotte Island crossing between Prince Rupert and Skidegate.

History

Construction on the ship began in Greece in 2001. Due to unspecified delays during construction of the hull, work was delayed, and construction was not completed until June 2004. The ship was first chartered by the Port Authority of Trinidad and Tobago to run the route between Port of Spain, Trinidad, and Scarborough, Tobago. Ship operations were managed by International Shipping Partners. The ferry then operated out of Barcelona before being purchased by BC Ferries in a deal worth €35.7 million, or $50.6 million CAD

The ship was painted in BC Ferries livery and sailed from Greece to Victoria, BC via the Panama Canal. The vessel arrived at the Victoria shipyards on December 18, 2006, where it underwent an $18-million refit and interior upgrade that finished in March 2007.

BC Ferries Service

Upon entering service the Northern Adventure initially replaced the Queen of the North, which sank in March 2006, on the Inside Passage route. However, when the Northern Expedition entered service in early 2009 the Queen of Prince Rupert was decommissioned and the Northern Adventure was reassigned to replace the QPR and its Queen Charlotte Island duties.

Controversy

The Northern Adventure's maiden voyage was on March 31, 2007, leaving Port Hardy for Prince Rupert three hours late.^{[citation needed]} According to news reports quoting Mark Stefanson, executive director of public affairs, the delay was “due to the crew checking things out.” After a short ribbon-cutting ceremony, 144 passengers and 39 vehicles boarded, only to be told the departure was delayed^{[citation needed]}. Some passengers were disappointed that not all the staterooms were ready, and had to sleep sitting up or on the floor.^{[citation needed]} However, many seemed to be impressed with the vessel.^{[citation needed]}

The vessel had further troubles less than a week later when the April 6, 2007 departure from Prince Rupert was delayed more than 30 hours. Problems included a dry chemical leak from a fire extinguisher which set off fire alarms, a grey water tank overflowed, sending water into the galley, and a faulty public address system.

The use of non-union GMI labour (in contravention of the LIUNA collective agreement) in the Victoria Shipyards refit is currently a matter of arbitration.^{[citation needed]}

There was also some controversy over the name of the ship - some believed that BC Ferries should have named the ship after the community of Hartley Bay, British Columbia, whose residents helped the passengers of the Queen of the North after the sinking.