Koastal Karl
Voyager 
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on Feb 28, 2014 21:19:02 GMT -8
Is she gonna sail via Boundary Pass on the East Point side of Saturna??? If I took an 11am or 1pm ferry from Swartz Bay I wonder if I would see her???
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Post by WettCoast on Feb 28, 2014 21:39:43 GMT -8
Is she gonna sail via Boundary Pass on the East Point side of Saturna??? If I took an 11am or 1pm ferry from Swartz Bay I wonder if I would see her??? You would likely get an excellent view from along the Victoria water front; for example try Clover Point when the ship is in fairly close to pick up a pilot. It will probably go around by East Point (Saturna) but it might possibly do Active Pass and say 'hi' to the little ferries found in this part of the world. |
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grk
Chief Steward
Posts: 227
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Post by grk on Mar 1, 2014 9:18:48 GMT -8
She has come ahead an hour, now boarding the Pilot at 11:00. Route will be Haro Strait then Boundary Pass. About 14:00 off Roberts Bank. Pehaps 1600 at First Narrows. If you check the PPA webiste about 1115, there might be an indication of her arrival time. The time posted in the ETA column is the Pilot's expected time at First Narrows, not at the berth.
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Post by WettCoast on Mar 1, 2014 9:57:39 GMT -8
The Silja Festival is now due south of Metchosin. She might cross paths with Blackball's Coho out in front of Victoria.
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on Mar 1, 2014 10:42:24 GMT -8
Is Roberts Bank Point Roberts??? I wonder how long she will be in Vancouver for??? I wonder if you would see her from the 1:00 ferry from Swartz Bay!
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grk
Chief Steward
Posts: 227
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Post by grk on Mar 1, 2014 11:28:04 GMT -8
16:30 at Lions Gate Bridge. Roberts Bank is the coal terminal, Delta Port the container terminal adjacent to the ferry terminal. Point Roberts is the American portion of the peninsula east of the ferry terminal.
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Post by Mike C on Mar 2, 2014 22:05:48 GMT -8
On Saturday, the MV Silja Festival arrived in Vancouver. Putting my sprinting skills to the test, I shoved a fistful of quarters into a parking machine at Prospect Point and ran down to the viewpoint. I captured her first approach into Vancouver harbour.  MV Silja Festival - First Narrows, Vancouver by MileagePhoto, on Flickr I then went to the other side of Stanley Park, where she danced with tugs...  MV Silja Festival - Burrard Inlet, Vancouver by MileagePhoto, on Flickr ...before they moved her into her final berthing point of Pier 94 in North Vancouver. This was shot from the pier adjacent, in the shipyards residential development.  Mv Silja Festival - Pier 94, North Vancouver by MileagePhoto, on Flickr, on Flickr |
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on Mar 2, 2014 22:12:06 GMT -8
So is this ship going to be up here for good or is she just up here tomporarily?? It was probably mentioned before.
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FNS
Voyager
The Empire Builder train of yesteryear in HO scale
Posts: 4,957
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Post by FNS on Mar 2, 2014 22:53:00 GMT -8
So is this ship going to be up here for good or is she just up here tomporarily?? It was probably mentioned before.
That's a new word! 
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Post by timmyc on Mar 3, 2014 0:02:39 GMT -8
Wasn't sure where to put this - it's going to be in BC for a while, so I figured it might result in some on-going discussion for the next few years. Anyway: To help with accommodation situations in Kitimat's LNG infrastructure construction, the Estonian 'cruise ferry' Silja Festival has been brought in. Arriving in Vancouver just today, she's being refitted in Seaspan's Vancouver Drydock to make her more suitable for long-term housing. She'll house some 600 workers and be 'rebranded' the Delta Spirit Lodge. Source article: www.calgaryherald.com/news/canada/Ferry+will+house+workers+Kitimat/9570393/story.htmlOddly, Tallink still has her listed on their website: www.tallink.com/silja-festivalBuilt 1986, she's 171m long and apparently used to run the Riga-Stockholm route. She's being replaced on that routing by the Isabelle: www.tallink.com/press-releases#17573324Silja Festival passing under the Lions Gate:  |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Mar 3, 2014 7:05:17 GMT -8
Silja Festival passing under the Lions Gate: Important to say "Photograph by: JESSICA HAYDAHL" I think it is good forum practice here to use other people's photos sparingly on this forum (ie. only when it's something significant and/or where we don't have people posting their own photos of the event), and to always credit the photographer by name. |
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Post by timmyc on Mar 3, 2014 8:40:46 GMT -8
You're right - I usually would, but figured I could skip it since it's mentioned in the linked article anyway. Will do from now on!
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Post by WettCoast on Mar 3, 2014 10:06:32 GMT -8
To help with accommodation situations in Kitimat's LNG infrastructure construction, the Estonian 'cruise ferry' Silja Festival has been brought in. Just to set the record straight, this ferry is being brought in by Rio Tinto Alcan (formerly just Alcan) in the push to complete its $3.5 billion smelter rebuild & modernization project. LNG related activity is partially responsible for the lack of available housing in the Kitimat - Terrace area, but it is not the reason that this ferry is coming here. Officially, the Silja Festival will be here for just nine months, though I could see one of the LNG players taking it over, should they actually proceed with a project. For more, read the following from the Globe & Mail's Mark Hume, or go back to the original post by 'timo' on page 1 of this thread... Kitimat smelter operator to house temporary workers on cruise ship MARK HUME VANCOUVER — The Globe and Mail Published Tuesday, Jan. 28 2014, 8:24 PM EST Last updated Tuesday, Jan. 28 2014, 8:31 PM EST A luxurious cruise ferry that boasts a sailor’s pub, casino and dance floor is on its way from the Baltic Sea to Kitimat, on B.C.’s north coast, where it will help relieve a growing housing crisis. Rio Tinto Alcan is bringing in the cruise ferry, Silja Festival, for a nine-month stay to provide accommodations for temporary workers involved in a $3.3-billion modernization and expansion of its [aluminum] smelter. The ship will house 500 workers, said Colleen Nyce, manager of communications for Rio Tinto Alcan, and there will be an on-board staff of about 100. Most of those positions – ship cooks, cleaning staff – will be filled in B.C., but the ship will come with an outside crew of about 20 people. Rio Tinto Alcan already has a work camp in Kitimat with 1,700 beds, but Ms. Nyce said that is at capacity and workers have been renting places in town, where vacancies are getting increasingly hard to find. “Over this past year and a bit, we’ve seen an increase in activity with other projects and realized as we ramp up that we are not going to have enough room in the town,” she said. “The town folk are already feeling the pain a bit, and we’ve heard that. This is something we just pulled out of our back pocket and started working on really quickly.” The 170-metre ship, run by Tallink Group as a cruise ferry in the Baltic Sea, is being called the Delta Spirit Lodge for its Canadian assignment. Ms. Monaghan [Kitimat's mayor] said that name reflects the history of Kitimat because 60 years ago, workers brought in to help build the original Alcan smelter were housed on a ship called the Delta King. “It was an old paddle wheeler and that’s where a lot of the accommodations were. That ship is now in California as a restaurant,” she said. Ms. Monaghan said there are already a lot of workers in the community and many more will come if the LNG projects go ahead. Kitimat LNG, LNG Canada and Douglas Channel Energy Project all have proposed building new projects in Kitimat. The plans, which have not yet been completed, would see pipelines built to Kitimat from the gas fields in northeast B.C. Gas would be processed at plants on the waterfront and loaded on LNG bulk carriers for shipment to markets largely in Asia. Another story from the Huffington Post (.ca) |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Mar 3, 2014 10:52:11 GMT -8
You're right - I usually would, but figured I could skip it since it's mentioned in the linked article anyway. Will do from now on! Pardon the 2nd minor housekeeping note: - we also try to avoid what we call "Hotlinking" of photos. Meaning, if you display a photo, it needs to be from your own host. Otherwise, you should only show a link to a "not your host" photo. |
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Post by timmyc on Mar 3, 2014 12:37:13 GMT -8
I actually did rehost the image to Imgur, but will keep in mind to keep doing that from now on  |
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Post by Low Light Mike on Mar 3, 2014 13:40:35 GMT -8
I actually did rehost the image to Imgur, but will keep in mind to keep doing that from now on That's what I thought too, but I wanted to be sure. Thanks for tolerating us. LOL ! |
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mrdot
Voyager
Mr. DOT
Posts: 1,252
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Post by mrdot on Mar 4, 2014 9:19:10 GMT -8
:)now if you are 'politically correct' you may be able to board this 'spirit bear' when it comes to town!  mrdot. |
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Koastal Karl
Voyager
Been on every BC Ferry now!!!!!
Posts: 7,747
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Post by Koastal Karl on Mar 4, 2014 17:27:06 GMT -8
How long is she going to be in Vancouver for??? It would be neat to get over and see her but I have no idea how long till she heads up north!
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grk
Chief Steward
Posts: 227
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Post by grk on Mar 6, 2014 17:34:03 GMT -8
The order is in for Pilots for the northbound trip. Departing Vancouver at 21:00 on Friday, 07 March. Routing is up the inside to the north end of the Island, then depending on weather, either outside or inside until Douglas Channel.
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Post by WettCoast on Mar 7, 2014 18:55:54 GMT -8
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Post by WettCoast on Mar 8, 2014 17:24:22 GMT -8
The Silja Festival has now left Vancouver & has crossed BC Ferries' 'route 2' path and should be visible from the Queen of Cowichan. The ETA at Kitimat for the SF is listed as 0500 March 10 UTC, meaning that it should show up at 10 PM tomorrow (Sunday) PDT.
Update: Sunday, March 9 @ 12:30 PDT
She's now off Cape Calvert and appears to be on track for a 10 PM arrival tonight at the former Eurocan Terminal in Kitimat.
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Post by WettCoast on Mar 9, 2014 14:42:04 GMT -8
The Silja Festival is currently abreast of AMHS's Kennicott in Fitz Hugh Sound at the point where the turn is made into Lama Passage. The Kennicott, I believe, is not in service.
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Post by WettCoast on Mar 10, 2014 9:09:39 GMT -8
The Silja Festival arrived in Kitimat early this morning (10 March 2014) before daylight. It is now tied up at Rio Tinto Alcan's Terminal 2 (formerly the Eurocan dock). Re-branded as the Delta Spirit Lodge, she will spend the best part of the next year in Kitimat serving as a 'floatel' accommodation vessel for workers involved in the $3.5 billion Kitimat smelter rebuild & modernization project. There will now be a run on European electrical outlet adapters in the Kitimat/Terrace area.  photo © WCK-JST by Wett Coast, on Flickr |
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timo
Deckhand
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Post by timo on Mar 11, 2014 9:47:43 GMT -8
Nothing odd about that. She is still owned by Tallink and registered in Latvia, homeport Riga. I hope you enjoyed the picture where she was assisted by tugs - that has (if information from a former officer is correct) only happened once before, when she as Wellamo was dragged afloat after running aground during her first summer of operation in 1986. So in her career that was as much historical as entering Vancouver. I must admit that I am curious why they used tugs, as these are in reality almost never used on Scandinavian ferries. That is why they have bow thrusters with over 2000 kW of power. Is it some sort of requirement for berthing in Vancouver? |
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FNS
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The Empire Builder train of yesteryear in HO scale
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Post by FNS on Mar 11, 2014 15:11:12 GMT -8
Nothing odd about that. She is still owned by Tallink and registered in Latvia, homeport Riga. I hope you enjoyed the picture where she was assisted by tugs - that has (if information from a former officer is correct) only happened once before, when she as Wellamo was dragged afloat after running aground during her first summer of operation in 1986. So in her career that was as much historical as entering Vancouver. I must admit that I am curious why they used tugs, as these are in reality almost never used on Scandinavian ferries. That is why they have bow thrusters with over 2000 kW of power. Is it some sort of requirement for berthing in Vancouver? It might be a requirement in Vancouver Harbour. Other forum mates can give you a better answer. Tugs assist BC Ferries' vessels lots of times when they go up and down the Fraser River and, especially, entering and departing the tight confines of their Vessel Maintenance Centre at Deas (Richmond BC). Tugs also assist our vessels of Washington State Ferries when going to and from a shipyard. Our new KDT ferries were assisted by tugs when they departed and arrived Everett during their sea trial sessions. Tuggyboats have crews who earn their pay to feed their families. They're cute, but are definitely essential to the daily operations on our waterways. It's best to keep them busy! |
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mrdot.