Ferry crossings between PEI and Nova Scotia resumed Wednesday, nearly a week after an engine room fire on MV Holiday Island disrupted all ferry service there from the island.
The MV Confederation left the port of Wood Islands, PEI at 7 a.m. AT with about 44 vehicles on board, about the average for the first trip on a Wednesday morning, according to operator Northumberland Ferries Ltd. There were 14 trucks, six motorcycles, four campers and about 20 cars.
The Confederation will make four round trips a day to begin with, with the last return trip to Caribou, NS departing at 6:30 p.m. The times are:
- From Wood Islands at 7am and 10am and 1:30pm and 5pm AT.
- From Caribou at 8:30 a.m. and 11:45 a.m. and 3:15 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.
Northumberland Ferries says it is working on a plan to extend the Confederation timetable to six return journeys a day on weekdays as early as next week.
The resumption came after five days without ferry service as the company dealt with the aftermath of the fire. During this time, the only way a vehicle could enter or leave the island was via the Confederation Bridge that connects PEI and New Brunswick.
More than 200 people had to be evacuated from Holiday Island on Friday afternoon as it approached the Wood Islands with heavy smoke rising into the sky from a fire in the ship’s engine room.
Late Tuesday, Transportation Safety Board inspectors were still waiting to gain access to that room to begin the process of determining what went wrong.
MV Confederation, right, is shown alongside MV Holiday Island at Wood Islands on Wednesday morning. Ferry service between PEI and Nova Scotia has resumed almost a week after an engine room fire on Holiday Island. (Julien Lecacheur/Radio-Canada)
John Dalziel is a former Transport Canada marine safety inspector who worked for 50 years overseeing the construction and repair of ships.
He told CBC News that the fact that the fire continued to burn for more than 24 hours despite attempts to put it out indicates that something obviously went very wrong.
“If you can seal off the engine room and flood it with carbon dioxide, the fire should go out,” he said.
“The fact that the fire went on for so long suggests that maybe it didn’t work as well as it should have. And certainly when they get a chance to look at it more closely, they’ll be able to assess why that happened “.
A truck pulls up to MV Confederacy on Wednesday. Fourteen trucks, six motorcycles, four campers and about 20 cars were on board during the 7 a.m. trip to Caribou, NS (Julien Lecacheur/Radio-Canada)
Northumberland Ferries and the federal government have said they are looking at options to replace the ferry.
In 2019, Ottawa announced it would acquire a new ship to replace Holiday Island, although that wasn’t expected until at least 2027.
Dalziel said it’s highly likely Holiday Island will never operate again, and finding a replacement ferry won’t be easy.
“To find a ship that fits these terminals, it may take some time,” he said. “Hopefully people are thinking very quickly right now about what the options are. And there are probably good options.”
The replacement could be ready this summer, the minister says
During a stop in PEI on Wednesday, Cardigan MP and cabinet minister Lawrence MacAulay said the federal government is already in discussions to secure a temporary replacement.
While MacAulay said he could not reveal any details about how the talks are going and risk jeopardizing the negotiations, he did say they have made “more progress” than he thought they would at this point.
He said the replacement could even be in place before the tourist season ends.
“That’s a reasonable possibility, a very good possibility,” he said.
Northumberland Ferries has said the MV Confederation can handle around 85 per cent of normal traffic. But MacAulay said having two ferries gives tourists confidence they’ll be able to get to their destination.
“It’s very important that we have two ferries to keep all the traffic moving,” he said. “If you’re wondering, ‘Well, maybe I’ll get it right, maybe I won’t,’ maybe you wouldn’t bother coming to Prince Edward Island. That’s what worries me.”
Transportation Safety Board investigators prepare to board the MV Holiday Island Wednesday morning. (Julien Lecacheur/Radio-Canada)
MacAulay said the potential replacement is not the CTMA Vacancier, the ferry that sailed between Souris and Cap-aux-Meules in the Magdalena Islands during the winter.
The federally owned Vacancier has been docked in Georgetown since late 2021.
“People tell me it would be a water problem and possibly a dredging problem,” MacAulay said. “I’m not the expert on this, but that’s the information I got, that with that ferry it could be difficult.”
The union calls for mental health support
Meanwhile, Canada’s largest private sector union is calling on Northumberland Ferries to ensure there are adequate mental health supports for workers involved in disembarking passengers and securing the ship until it can be towed to the dock to download it.
Unifor said in a press release on Tuesday that members of Locals 4508 and 4508A, which represent Northumberland Ferries employees, were essential to ensure passengers left the ship quickly and without significant injury following emergency procedures.
“Our expectation is that the employer will have counselors in place to provide the necessary assistance to our members and provide at any time outside of the work environment to those employees who have had to overcome such a frightening situation,” Linda McNeil , Unifor’s Atlantic region. director, said in the statement.
“The fact that all passengers, young and old, including those with mobility issues, and all crew members made it off a burning vessel is due to the heroic efforts of the crew of MV Holiday Island.”
‘Blessing in Disguise’?
Passengers CBC News spoke to as they waited to board the Confederation on Wednesday had no qualms about taking the ferry.
In fact, Chris Hancock, who is from the area, believes the fire may have been a “blessing in disguise” if it leads to the acquisition of a new ferry.
“Maybe it’s time to get another ferry and maybe that will speed things up and obviously it’s great that no one was hurt.”