The winning bid for a BC Ferries vessel came in at $210,000 when the online auction closed Tuesday afternoon.
The corporation had put the Howe Sound Queen earlier this month to make way for a replacement.
A bidding war ensued between two people who in the dying minutes of the auction continued to drive up the price. The website has not revealed the name of the new owner.
The vessel will continue to operate until June at which time it will retire, but be 鈥渒ept warm and in operational state鈥� until transfer of ownership, according to the website.
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The 55-year-old ferry can hold up to 300 passengers and crew, with 52 鈥渁utomobile equivalents,鈥� and travels up to 10 knots, or just over 18 km/h.
The ferry, previously known as Napoleon L., operated in Quebec until 1971, when it was purchased by BC Ferries for $350,000, according to the West Coast Ferries website.
The ship started sailing between Bowen Island and Horseshoe Bay, earning the nickname 鈥淗ound鈥� for its 鈥渓ack of amenities and poor handling of heavy seas.鈥�
It now runs mainly between Vesuvius on Salt Spring Island and Crofton, north of Duncan, on Vancouver Island.
joti.grewal@bpdigital.ca
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