She sails daily on the Inside Passage route connecting Prince Rupert and Port Hardy.

On August 18, 2006 BC Ferries awarded the contract to build a replacement vessel for Queen of Prince Rupert to Flensburger Schiffbau-Gesellschaft shipyard in Flensburg, Germany (the same shipyard awarded the contract for the three new Coastal-class ferries).

[5] Northern Expedition completed her 9,900-nautical-mile (18,300 km; 11,400 mi) journey on March 6, 2009, passing Victoria and Vancouver before arriving in Departure Bay at Nanaimo for post-voyage inspection.

[2] Northern Expedition entered service on May 18, 2009 along the Inside Passage route between Prince Rupert and Port Hardy.

Northern Expedition's four passenger decks feature:[2][7] Media related to IMO 9408413 at Wikimedia Commons