Is this rust bucket on its way to Union Bay? New owner hasn’t been disclosed. Thanks to the landowner for providing the info.

https://www.vancouverisawesome.com/local-news/one-of-the-first-bc-ferries-was-just-sold-as-a-barge-7317539

It sold for as much as a fancy pickup truck

Brendan Kergin
Jul 24, 2023 12:22 PM

  • The former Queen of Tsawwassen has sold.
  • It's now called the Inlet Explorer.
  • Inside parts of it appear to have been kept quite clean, including the cafeteria.

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1 / 6 The former Queen of Tsawwassen has sold.Iron Planet

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The former Queen of Tsawwassen has sold.
It's now called the Inlet Explorer.
The ship was built in 1959 and was one of the original ferries for BC Ferries.
The car deck has been used for storage and as a workshop, it appears.
The kitchen appears to be used regularly.
Inside parts of it appear to have been kept quite clean, including the cafeteria.

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00:01:21

The Queen of Tsawwassen will voyage on, as long as someone has a tugboat.

The ferry, one of the original two vessels BC Ferries started out with, has been sold. Built in 1959, she spent decades crisscrossing B.C.’s ocean waterways.

The Queen of Tsawwassen has been anchored near Gambier Island north of Vancouver for some months. Since the vessel was initially sold by BC Ferries, it was renamed the Inlet Explorer and used by other companies. In photos from the listing website, Iron Planet, it appears the former Queen of Tsawwassen was used as accommodation for a while, with bedrooms added.

Recently the vessel was reclassified as a barge (since it no longer has a propulsion system).

The former Queen of Tsawwassen had been sold in late 2022 to an unknown buyer, but it didn’t leave its anchorage and reappeared on the market earlier this year, with a minimum bid of $55,000 (less than many used pickup trucks).

Iron Planet has updated the listing, showing the one-time Queen sold for $85,000 (the cost of a fancy pickup, still used) earlier this month. The site doesn’t share who has bought the ferry though, and the federal registry hasn’t been updated with the new ownership of the ship.