Official fleet letters and numbers

[DENelson83]

I thought I'd put together this list of official numbers, MMSIs and callsigns of every vessel in the BC Ferries fleet, for your own reference.

Vessel name	IMO number	TC official number	MMSI	Callsign
SPIRIT OF BRITISH COLUMBIA	9015668	815277	316001268	VOSM
SPIRIT OF VANCOUVER ISLAND	9030682	816503	316001269	CFL2070
COASTAL CELEBRATION	9332779	832800	316011409	CFN5145
COASTAL INSPIRATION	9332767	832381	316011408	CFN4970
COASTAL RENAISSANCE	9332755	832105	316011407	CFN4888
QUEEN OF ALBERNI	7414080	370066	316001245	CZ8100
QUEEN OF OAK BAY	7902283	396065	316001257	VG8234
QUEEN OF SURREY	7902221	396048	316001262	VG8177
QUEEN OF COQUITLAM	7411155	370060	316001249	CZ8058
QUEEN OF COWICHAN	7411143	370065	316001251	CZ4990
QUEEN OF ESQUIMALT	5413068	318673	316001253	CYJC
QUEEN OF SAANICH	5408142	318669	316001259	VYKX
QUEEN OF VANCOUVER	5288035	318636	316001264	CYMW
QUEEN OF NEW WESTMINSTER	6413663	322953	316001255	VDQQ
QUEEN OF BURNABY	6510148	322978	316001246	VCVV
QUEEN OF NANAIMO	6404375	320068	316001254	VCNX
NORTHERN ADVENTURE	9257735	831074	316194000	CFN4641
QUEEN OF PRINCE RUPERT	6525179	323870	316001258	VGPZ
QUEEN OF CHILLIWACK	7700415	812639	316001248	CFC5637
QUEEN OF TSAWWASSEN	5288023	312277	316001263	VCMC
QUEEN OF CUMBERLAND	9009360	815254	316001252	VG2029
QUEEN OF CAPILANO	9008354	812656	316001247	VY9513
ISLAND SKY	9370458	832720	316012774	CFN5148
POWELL RIVER QUEEN	6515796	323841	316001243	VDPJ
BOWEN QUEEN	6600967	323854	316001232	VGXR
MAYNE QUEEN	6522567	323848	316001238	VGRR
HOWE SOUND QUEEN	6418546	319730	316001234	CY3842
SKEENA QUEEN	9137090	819521	316001267	CFL8497
QUINITSA	7710965	383249	316001265	CZ8734
QUINSAM	8111386	801691	316001266	VY6800
KAHLOKE	7330595	347780	316001236	CZ3845
KLITSA	7228481	345965	316001235	CZ3072
KUPER	9029267	830819	316009547	CFN4618
KWUNA	7512117	368934	316001237	CZ4746
NORTH ISLAND PRINCESS	8873788	310431	316001242	VDBD
QUADRA QUEEN II	7003439	330610	316001244	VGTT
TACHEK	6920343	330601	316001271	VXRQ
TENAKA	6501850	322969	316001272	CY7449
NIMPKISH	7324388	347770	316001241	CZ2741
MILL BAY	5235208	198842	316001239	CZ2009

[Low Light Mike]

DENelly, can you please also give us an explanation of what the various columns of your table mean?
- who issues them
- what purpose they are used for
- etc etc

That would be helpful, and much appreciated. I have seen these various registration-numbers in your posts, but I don't really understand them.

Please educate me (and maybe others too).

Thanks.

[DENelson83]

IMO numbers are issued by the International Maritime Organization, a UN agency, when registered with Lloyd's Register Fairplay. The IMO number is unique to a hull and never changes.

When a ship is registered in Canada, Transport Canada then assigns that ship her "official number." Official numbers are tied to country of registry and change when a ship's country of registry changes. Apparently the first few digits of the official number refer specifically to country of registry. That's why the official numbers of all vessels in the BC Ferries fleet start with either "3" or "8," except for the MV Mill Bay, which was built before the current official numbering scheme came into effect.

MMSI stands for "Maritime Mobile Service Identity," used in digital radio "selective calling" messages as part of the Global Maritime Distress Safety System. They're also used in AIS position reports. Think of MMSIs as maritime counterparts to IP addresses. The first three non-zero digits of an MMSI, called "Maritime Identification Digits," refer to country of registry, with "316" standing for Canada. Industry Canada assigns MMSIs to Canadian-registered ships.

The vessel's callsign, also assigned by Industry Canada, is used for voice radio transmissions, just like the callsign of a broadcast radio or television station, such as CHEK-TV. Like MMSIs, callsigns start with a code, in this case called an "ITU prefix", that identifies country of licence. For example, "VO," in the Spirit of British Columbia's callsign of VOSM, stands for Canada.

[Low Light Mike]

Thanks for the explanation, Mr. Nelson. I appreciated the detail.

[ruddernut]

So what use would anybody who does not work within BCF's administration have for these data?

[Low Light Mike]

ruddernut said:

So what use would anybody who does not work within BCF's administration have for these data?

Well Billy, I suppose that some people are interested in fine-detail data. That's a common-thread for many hobbies.

Do you find that idea hard to fathom?

[ruddernut]

flugelhorn said:

ruddernut said:

So what use would anybody who does not work within BCF's administration have for these data?

Well Billy, I suppose that some people are interested in fine-detail data. That's a common-thread for many hobbies.

Do you find that idea hard to fathom?

Uhh...okay. Are people going to memorize these numbers?

Aspergers, anyone?

[Low Light Mike]

ruddernut said:

flugelhorn said:

Well Billy, I suppose that some people are interested in fine-detail data. That's a common-thread for many hobbies.

Do you find that idea hard to fathom?

Uhh...okay. Are people going to memorize these numbers?

Aspergers, anyone?

Hey, you've mentioned that issue here before. I don't think an interest in fine-detail means that someone has any degree of autism, Aspergers or other. Now, I have met one ferry-nut who does have autism and expresses his joy through ferry-items, but that doesn't mean that fine-detail-appreciation equals something like that.

I think that many fine-detail people have some common personality traits, and many of those traits aren't clinical abnormalities, just personality quirks. A "black and white" general view of things is often associated with fine-detail, in my experience of observing detail. But that's not always the case. For instance, I've also met a fine-detail ferry-nerd who's a "sk8r-boi" type who seems to break every stereotype of a nerd, and yet he knows detailed info on historical coastal ships.

I'm curious what your agenda is re these short-snapper type questions? Please give us more than just one line at a time.....would you like to converse about this?

[ruddernut]

flugelhorn said:

ruddernut said:

Uhh...okay. Are people going to memorize these numbers?

Aspergers, anyone?

Hey, you've mentioned that issue here before.

Whoa! Somebody's got a memory.

It was quite a long time ago when some other user was explaining how he has a good memory for trivial and useless detail, and I suggested the possibility that he might have Aspergers. Is that the incident that you are referring to?

flugelhorn said:

I'm curious what your agenda is re these short-snapper type questions? Please give us more than just one line at a time.....would you like to converse about this?

I'm actually not all that verbose or creative with words. I tend to explain my points in a concise and bare-bones manner. Is there a problem with that?

[Low Light Mike]

Yes, I was referring to an "Asperger's" question that you asked Barnacle, last year. Yup, I've got an unusual memory for facts. Would you like to know the Stanley Cup winners from 1954 to present? How about the Conn Smythe Trophy winners from Dave Keon to present? Or the Summer & Winter Olympics sites?

I really enjoy observing different personalities, especially on a forum such as this. And so I appreciate your answer to my questions about "short responses"', because that lets me better understand your posts. So no, I don't have a problem with your concise style, now that you've explained yourself; so now I understand where you're coming from.

Do you have interest in Asperger's or other autism-types? I've found that subject pretty interesting myself, although I don't have any family-members or close-acquaintences who are those types.

For myself, I find the Meyers-Briggs type indicator very interesting. I kind of wish that everyone would take that test and have their type tatood on their foreheads. It would make understanding other people much easier! (yes, that's not a completely serious statement).

over.

ps: DNelson: feel free to jump in on this conversation too....

[DENelson83]

Time-to-time on siitech.net, some ships only show up under their MMSIs. I've seen a few times where one of those ships turned out to be a BC Ferry, and so having a list of all the MMSIs used by BC Ferries can come in handy in such a situation.

[Northern Exploration]

Meyers Briggs - that brings back memories. Well I am as usual a bit of an anomoly. I am clearly ISTJ in business and ISPJ personally so call me schizophrenic.

I think these sorts of charts somewhere on the forum are a great resource. Things like this and route numbers etc. are great because you never know when they will come in handy. Thanks Dave.

[DENelson83]

Here are the official letters and numbers for other vessels that used to be associated with BC Ferries:

Vessel name	IMO number	TC official number	MMSI	Callsign
ALBERT J. SAVOIE	5126287	314008	----	CY5891
GARIBALDI II	6411732	320064	----	CY7155
NICOLA	5287744	312279	316012834	VCNN
PACIFICAT DISCOVERY	9146431	821018	316001790	CFG7612
PACIFICAT EXPLORER	9146429	820007	316001370	CFL9605
PACIFICAT VOYAGER	9146443	821047	316002050	CFG7627
QUEEN OF SIDNEY	5288011	312273	316001261	VCNR
QUEEN OF THE ISLANDS	5425255	320045	----	VCGX
QUEEN OF THE NORTH	6917267	368854	----	VCQD
QUEEN OF VICTORIA	5288047	314040	----	----

See if you can fill in the blanks.

[lmtengs]

Hullnumbers would like this thread. Just highlighting it for him