A replacement ferry for the MV Holiday Island could carry passengers between Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia by mid-August.
MV Saaremaa 1 left Trois-Rivières, Que., on Wednesday and will undergo trials in Caribou, NS, Northumberland Ferries Ltd. said. in a press release.
The evaluation is expected to take up to 10 days. If “everything falls into place,” it should arrive in the Wood Islands soon after, PEI MP Lawrence MacAulay said.
“We expect this ship to cross the strait by mid-August, that’s the hope,” he said in an interview with CBC News: Compass.
“Looks like that will fill the bill.”
MV Holiday Island has been out of service since July 22, when a fire in the engine room caused extensive damage and forced the evacuation of about 200 people on board. He is expected to be docked for the rest of the season.
The MV Holiday Island has been out of service since July 22 after a fire broke out in the engine room. (Shane Hennessey/CBC)
The other ferry that runs between PEI and Nova Scotia, the MV Confederation, has made extra trips to make up for the loss.
MV Saaremaa 1, owned by Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ), arrives when the tourist season is in full swing in the Maritimes. It will be recalled in the event of a mechanical disruption on one of STQ’s other ferry routes, the statement said.
Capacity for 600 passengers
MV Saaremaa 1 was built in Norway in 2010. It is just under 100 meters long and can reach a cruising speed of around 16 knots. It has capacity for 110 vehicles and 600 passengers, including 300 seats.
It includes a café and a furnished outdoor terrace.
The MV Holiday Island, by comparison, can accommodate 155 vehicles and 399 passengers and reach a cruising speed of 12 knots.
“We are very grateful to STQ and the province of Quebec for their responsiveness and willingness to help, and for the hard work of all their staff that has allowed this assessment to take place,” said Northumberland Ferries CEO , Mark MacDonald, in the statement.
MacAulay says the potential replacement PEI-NS ferry is coming soon
“It happened faster than I ever thought it would happen, but it looks like, hopefully, it will fill the bill,” says Cardigan MP Lawrence MacAulay.
Editor’s note: Northumberland Ferries Ltd. issued a press release after this interview aired.