Northumberland Ferries evaluating interim replacement vessel for P.E.I. ferry services

CHARLOTTETOWN, P.E.I. — Northumberland Ferries Restricted (NFL) is trying to safe an interim alternative vessel for its Prince Edward Island Ferry Companies.

In a information launch, NFL stated MV Saaremaa 1 – owned by Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ) – has departed Trois-Rivie, Quebec to Caribou, Nova Scotia.

The vessel will bear an analysis earlier than attainable entry into the ferry service on an interim foundation.

Inside seven to 10 days after the vessel’s anticipated arrival in Caribou, the analysis and any crucial adjustments to the vessel or shore infrastructure can be accomplished.

The announcement comes after the MV Vacation Island’s engine room caught fireplace.

The NFL crew has been conversant in MV Saaremaa 1 since 2017 when firm representatives visited the vessel and her two sister ships in Europe when the vessels went beneath earlier possession.

“We’re extraordinarily grateful to STQ and the Province of Québec for his or her responsiveness and willingness to help, and for the exhausting work of all of their personnel which has enabled this analysis to happen,” stated NFL CEO Mark MacDonald.

The vessel can be recalled in an emergency if there’s a mechanical drawback on one in all STQ’s different ferry routes.

“We’re happy and proud to have the ability to help one other member of our trade in these difficult circumstances,” stated STQ CEO Stéphane Lafaut.

“We sit up for working with NFL to help their clients and communities as we do ours.”