These vessels were the backbone of service on the Tsawwassen – Swartz Bay route prior to the arrival of MV Spirit of British Columbia in 1993.

Both were built with two Mirrlees National KVSSM, V-16, 4 stroke-cycle, diesel engines, each producing 3,000 brake horsepower (2,200 kW) at 320 revolutions per minute.

As a result, the larger vessels of the British Columbia Ferries fleet would have "Queen" placed in front of their original names and the smaller ones have it added to the end.

The V class were intended to replace the ships BC Ferries had received from the Black Ball Line during its creation.

[8][10] They were powered by twin Paxman diesel engines giving the vessels a maximum speed of 18 knots (33 km/h; 21 mph).

[5] The second beginning in 1971 saw the ships sliced in half vertically across the beam for the insertion of a new 25.6-metre (84 ft) midsection, which dramatically increased their capacity.

Beyond increasing the length of the ships, a new deluxe restaurant was added seating 48 persons, a 190-seat self-service cafeteria was installed, carpets and wall paneling and an open solarium was to the boat deck.

The new midsections were pre-constructed to limit the time the ferries were out of service, turning it into a roughly three-month refit.

During this refit, the ships all received new MaK diesel engines to replace the problematic Paxman and Fairbanks-Morse models.

[5] Queen of New Westminster was lifted in 1991 and was fit with new Wartsila 9R-32D diesel engines to travel at 20 knots (37 km/h; 23 mph) comparable to the newer C-class ferries.

[28] She had a major refit of her passenger areas completed in 2009, preparing her for another ten to fifteen years of service.

[28] On 2 August 1970, Queen of Victoria was in transit through Active Pass with 626 passengers when the ferry was struck by the Soviet freighter Sergey Yesenin.

The results of the investigation found that the pilot aboard Sergey Yesenin was mainly at fault, though the master of Queen of Victoria was not spared blame.

[27] In 1994, Queen of Burnaby was temporarily leased to another provincial crown corporation called Victoria Line.

The vessel was renamed Royal Victorian, had a $4.7 million refit, and operated a once-daily summer service between Victoria and Seattle.

The vessel was then renamed and repainted to become Princess Marguerite III, operating on the Victoria to Seattle route.

In 2000, after Clipper Navigation also decided to end service on the route, the vessel was returned to the BC Ferries fleet under her original name, Queen of Burnaby.

The vessel was sold to Dalian Golden Sun I/E Co., Ltd. and docked in Port Alberni and renamed Princess Jacqueline.

The ship was intended for further service in China, but Princess Jacqueline never left British Columbia waters and the sale was eventually halted due to court action.

[46] The larger Queen of New Westminster, which had a major refit of her passenger areas completed in 2009, is expected to see another ten to fifteen years of service and is the sole survivor of the original seven ships.