MV Highlanders breaks through ice off Cape Breton

The ferry MV Highlanders, which spent last night stuck in ice off Cape Breton with 190 passengers aboard, has finally reached port in Newfoundland.

The shipbecame stuck shortly after 8 p.m. Monday. The Canadian Coast Guard vessel Louis S. St-Laurent wason the scene Tuesdayto keep the ferry moving.

• Winter storm warnings blanket Atlantic Canada

"It encountered some pressurized thick ice just off Cape Breton and became stuck," saidDarrell Mercer of Marine Atlantic. "This is just another of those challenges Mother Nature seems to be throwing at us."

The ferry is unloading at Port aux Basques and will head back to North Sydney overnight.

Once the ferry gotthrough the ice on the Cape Breton side, Mercer said,sailing had been expected to be much easier.

Passengers gotcomplimentary meals during the crossing.

Mercer said that last winterthe ice moved into the area in late March andearly April.

"This year, it moved in early to mid-February, and it doesnt show any signs of going away any time soon,"he said. "Ive heard the Canadian Coast Guard say its the worst of the 30-year averages theyve been keeping."

Mercer expects more easterly winds to blow ice into the route on Wednesday, which could cause more problems for the ferry.

"We certainly hope the Canadian Coast Guard, the ice-breaking services, will stay in the area, as we expect we are going to need their services for the next couple of days."

He said most customers are commercial transport operators, with few tourists on the ferry during the winter months.

"It is travelling on the ocean in the winter, and it just so happens that this winter is much more challenging than past winters,"he said.