British Columbia
Some residents of the Fraser Valley city of Mission have been told to shelter in place after a fire on a derelict vessel overnight on Saturday.
Abandoned Queen of Sidney ferry on fire, city says; emergency alert sent around 4 a.m. PT on Saturday
Akshay Kulkarni · CBC News
· Posted: May 03, 2025 1:10 PM EDT | Last Updated: 1 hour ago
The derelict Queen of Sidney ferry was ablaze early Saturday morning. (Shane MacKichan)Some residents of the Fraser Valley city of Mission have been told to shelter in place after a fire on a derelict vessel overnight on Saturday.
The City of Mission issued an emergency alert just before 4 a.m. PT warning of a fire on the abandoned Queen of Sidney ferry, which was moored just northwest of Matsqui Island approximately 55 km east of Vancouver.
B.C. Ferries says the ship was in operation from 1960 to 2000. The 102-metre vessel was sold in 2002. Its current owner is unknown.
On its website, Mission says the cause of the fire is not yet known but it is considered to be suspicious.
Residents near the fire — from Chester Street to 287 Street, including the Silverdale area — have been told to stay indoors, close all windows and doors, and turn off any ventilation systems that draw in air from outside.
The ferry was in service from 1960 to 2000, according to B.C. Ferries. (Shane MacKichan)CBC News has reached out to the Canadian Coast Guard for this story. A spokesperson for the Environment Ministry deferred comment to the Mission fire department.
The Queen of Sidney is among a number of derelict vessels along B.C. waterways that have raised environmental concerns in recent years, particularly given they could pose public safety risks.
In late March, the iconic McBarge vessel — a barge which housed a McDonald’s restaurant during Expo 86 — sank on the Fraser River near Maple Ridge, B.C., northwest of where the Queen of Sidney was moored.
The exact cause of the fire wasn’t immediately shared. (Shane MacKichan)ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Akshay Kulkarni is an award-winning journalist who has worked at CBC British Columbia since 2021. Based in Vancouver, he is most interested in data-driven stories. You can email him at akshay.kulkarni@cbc.ca.
