N.S.-P.E.I. ferry resumes service after being out of commission for 2 weeks

The ferry running between P.E.I. and Nova Scotia has resumedweeks earlier than expected.

The first departure was at 7 a.m. Saturday from Wood Islands, P.E.I.

The serviceshut down June 17 afterMV Confederation experienced a mechanical problem that requireda new part.

It was believed the vessel wouldn't be ready to resume service until mid-July because the part wasn't stockedanywhere in the world and had to be built from scratch. The replacement was manufactured in Germany and shipped to Canada.

Shortly after the disruption was announced, an official with Northumberland Ferries told CBCthat the partwas like the vanilla-cream layer in an Oreo cookie, with the ship's main engine representing one chocolate wafer and the equipment powering the propellers being the other side of the cookie.

In a statement issued Friday, Northumberland Ferries said it"did everything possible to speed up the manufacturing and delivery of the new part and have been able to expedite delivery with great co-operation from the supplier and all supporting agencies."

Service disruption 'shut down the traffic,' businesses say

As of Friday, MV Confederation had been off its run for nearly two weeks, leaving no vehicle or passenger ferry service between eastern P.E.I. and the mainland at the start of the busy summer tourism season.

That had many local business ownerswho rely on traffic from tourists taking the ferry worried about the potential impacts of a service disruption that could last for weeks.

"Tourists like the Island experience in taking the boat to or from the Island," said Gloria Shaw,manager of the Wood Islands Lighthouse Museum.

"It was a great disappointment to a lot of people when it shut down and it very much shut down the traffic in this area."

Shaw said Canada Day is normally a slow day at the museum due to events happening in Charlottetown and elsewhere on the Island, but that Saturdaywas busier thanwhat she was expecting.

"We're just very glad to see the ferry crossing today. It was a sight to behold," she said.

Malfunction left travellers with few options

Not only tourists but Island residents, truckers and other business travellers were left with only two options take the Confederation Bridge linking Borden-Carleton, P.E.I., to New Brunswick, or fly.

Alex Larkin,who's from New Glasgow, said he found out the ferry was resuming service aroundmidnight. He said it didn't take him too long to decide to buy a ticket.

"Just living in Nova Scotia, the only other option is [to] gothrough New Brunswick, drive the two hours, take the bridge, then normally we go to Charlottetown or Cavendish and that's usually an hour from the bridge itself so it's a great time-saver," he said.

The ferry malfunction cast light on the precariousness of having just one working vessel dedicated to the service, after MV Holiday Island was sent to a scrapyard following a fire on board in July 2022.

Northumberland Ferries was able to locate and lease a suitable car ferry from the Quebec ferry agency later in 2022, but company officials knew it could be pulled back at any time if needed to replace a vessel on a St. Lawrence River route.

That replacement vessel, MV Saaremaa I, is due to return to the P.E.I.-Nova Scotia route in mid-July after a stint in dry dock.

The federal government is the legal owner of the boats operated by Northumberland Ferries.

It has budgeted for a replacement ferry for MV Holiday Island, but that ship is still in the design stage and won't be ready until 2028 at the earliest.