MP holds out hope P.E.I.-Nova Scotia ferry could resume service this weekend

Ferry service between P.E.I. and Nova Scotia could be running as soon as the Canada Day weekend, according to an Island MP and Northumberland Ferries manager.

MV Confederation has been sidelined since June 17 because of mechanical issues. It needed a special part manufactured in Germany.

Lawrence MacAulay, the MP for the riding of Cardigan ineastern P.E.I., sent a tweet Wednesday saying the part will be shipped from Germany this week, and the Confederation "could be running again as soon as this weekend."

The ferry service is run by Northumberland Ferries Ltd., leasing vessels owned by Transport Canada.

Mark Wilson, senior vice president of Northumberland Ferries Ltd., confirmed MacAulay's tweetin an email response to CBCNews on Wednesday.

"NFL should be able to provide more exact details Friday morning," he said.

No plans for compensation

When it went out of service this spring, MV Confederation was the only ferry operating between Wood Islands, P.E.I., and Caribou, N.S. A second ferry, MV Saaremaa 1, is due to arrive on loan from Quebec in mid-July. It was intended to run in conjunction with the Confederation during the peak summer months.

Businesses in the area say they have lost customers due tothe shutdown of the ferry service at the start of the busy tourism season.

In an email to CBCNews, however, Transport Canada said it is "not considering any form of compensation to users impacted by the disruption."

The statement continued: "Across the last two operating seasons, Transport Canada has provided the ferry operator with an operating subsidy of nearly $14Mper year to provide the ferry service between Wood Islands and Caribou."