Eastern P.E.I. looks for smooth sailing this ferry season
The ferry between Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia is back on the water for another season and many are hoping issues which plagued the service are a thing of the past.
In July 2022, the 50 year year-old MV Holiday Island caught fire just outside of the harbour at Wood Islands, P.E.I., leaving the MV Confederation as the only ship on the route. It was joined by a second ferry on loan from Quebec the next year.
Due to an error during a tech update, the Confederation began to suffer a number of serious mechanical issues, leaving it out of commission for much of that sailing season.
“They ran the system in a range that they shouldn’t have, and it affected the flexible couplings, and when the ship got on the route, due to the rubber composition,” said Mark Wilson, Northumberland Ferries acting CEO. “You couldn’t predict that, and that is just something that normally doesn’t fail.”
Northumberland Ferries says they believe those issues are all worked out now and a second ship will be on standby for the route by the end of the month, and for the rest of the season.
“If, in case, something does happen, and, I mean, the best way to ensure reliability on the route is having the two ships there,” said Wilson. “I think there’s significant steps taken to get us back to a permanent two-ship solution on the route.”
Company officials say they didn’t see any long-term damage to the number of travellers despite the two weak years. Now they’re almost back at pre-pandemic numbers.
The ferry is a vital link for people living in eastern P.E.I.
Local politicians and community members were on hand Friday for the ground-breaking ceremony on an extension to connect the Island trail system to the ferry.
“This end of the Island has so many connections with the other side,” said John Rousseau with Wood Islands & Area Development Corp. “It’s just only natural. It’s so historical, it’s been going for so many years, and it’s a long way around.”
They say the connection to the Confederation Trail will make it easier for travellers to come to the Island from Nova Scotia without a car.
For more Prince Edward Island news visit our dedicated provincial page.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
From essential goods to common stocking stuffers, Trudeau offering Canadians temporary tax relief
Canadians will soon receive a temporary tax break on several items, along with a one-time $250 rebate, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Thursday.
She thought her children just had a cough or fever. A mother shares sons' experience with walking pneumonia
A mother shares with CTVNews.ca her family's health scare as medical experts say cases of the disease and other respiratory illnesses have surged, filling up emergency departments nationwide.
Trump chooses Pam Bondi for attorney general pick after Gaetz withdraws
U.S. president-elect Donald Trump on Thursday named Pam Bondi, the former attorney general of Florida, to be U.S. attorney general just hours after his other choice, Matt Gaetz, withdrew his name from consideration.
A one-of-a-kind Royal Canadian Mint coin sells for more than $1.5M
A rare one-of-a-kind pure gold coin from the Royal Canadian Mint has sold for more than $1.5 million. The 99.99 per cent pure gold coin, named 'The Dance Screen (The Scream Too),' weighs a whopping 10 kilograms and surpassed the previous record for a coin offered at an auction in Canada.
Putin says Russia attacked Ukraine with a new missile that he claims the West can't stop
Russian President Vladimir Putin announced Thursday that Moscow has tested a new intermediate-range missile in a strike on Ukraine, and he warned that it could use the weapon against countries that have allowed Kyiv to use their missiles to strike Russia.
Here's a list of items that will be GST/HST-free over the holidays
Canadians won't have to pay GST on a selection of items this holiday season, the prime minister vowed on Thursday.
Video shows octopus 'hanging on for dear life' during bomb cyclone off B.C. coast
Humans weren’t the only ones who struggled through the bomb cyclone that formed off the B.C. coast this week, bringing intense winds and choppy seas.
Taylor Swift's motorcade spotted along Toronto's Gardiner Expressway
Taylor Swift is officially back in Toronto for round two. The popstar princess's motorcade was seen driving along the Gardiner Expressway on Thursday afternoon, making its way to the downtown core ahead of night four of ‘The Eras Tour’ at the Rogers Centre.
Service Canada holding back 85K passports amid Canada Post mail strike
Approximately 85,000 new passports are being held back by Service Canada, which stopped mailing them out a week before the nationwide Canada Post strike.