Ferry on the way to replace fire-damaged Holiday Island
A substitute ferry for the MV Vacation Island could possibly be carrying passengers between Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia by mid-August.
The MV Saaremaa 1 left Trois-Rivières, Que, Wednesday and can bear testing at Caribou, N.S., Northumberland Ferries Ltd. stated in a information launch.
The analysis is anticipated to take as much as 10 days. If “all the things matches,” it must be arriving in Wooden Islands shortly thereafter, stated P.E.I. MP Lawrence MacAulay.
“We hope to have this vessel crossing the strait by the center of August, that is the hope,” he stated in an interview with CBC Information: Compass.
“It appears like this can hopefully fill the invoice.”
MV Vacation Island has been out of fee since July 22 when a hearth within the engine room precipitated intensive injury and compelled the evacuation of about 200 folks on board. It’s anticipated to be docked for the remainder of the season.
The opposite ferry working between P.E.I. and Nova Scotia, the MV Confederation, has been making additional journeys to make up for the loss.
MV Saaremaa 1, owned by Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ), comes when tourism season is in full swing within the Maritimes. It could be recalled in case of a mechanical disruption occurring on one in all STQ’s different ferry routes, the discharge stated.
Capability for 600 passengers
MV Saaremaa 1 was inbuilt Norway in 2010. It’s just below 100 metres lengthy and may attain a cruising velocity of round 16 knots. It has capability for 110 automobiles and 600 passengers, together with 300 seats.
It features a cafeteria and a furnished outside deck.
The MV Vacation Island, by comparability, can match 155 automobiles and 399 passengers and attain a cruising velocity of 12 knots.
“We’re extraordinarily grateful to STQ and the Province of Québec for his or her responsiveness and willingness to help, and for the onerous work of all of their personnel which has enabled this analysis to happen,” Northumberland Ferries CEO Mark MacDonald stated within the launch.
‘It occurred faster than I ever thought it will occur, nevertheless it appears like it can, hopefully, fill the invoice,’ Cardigan MP Lawrence MacAulay says.
Editor’s word: Northumberland Ferries Ltd. issued a information launch after this interview was broadcast.
