MV Confederation could be back on P.E.I.-N.S. run a few days earlier than expected
After several weeks with no ferries crossing the Northumberland Strait between P.E.I. and Nova Scotia, one of the service's beleaguered ships could return to service early next month, the company said Wednesday.
Northumberland Ferries Ltd. general manager Jeff Joyce said in a news release that MV Confederation is on track to resume crossings on Dec. 6, provided repairs to the vessel are completed on schedule.
The boat collided with the wharf in Wood Islands, P.E.I., on Sept. 15, leaving a hole in one of its raisable doors, or bow visors.
The company had been exploring bringing back the 31-year-old Confederation without its bow visor, but NFL said Wednesday that a risk assessment had determined that scenario "created a safety risk of high consequence because this piece of equipment renders the vehicle decks watertight."
The shipyard in Pictou expects to repair the Confederation's damaged bow visor by Dec. 3, Northumberland Ferries said on Wednesday. (Stacey Janzer/CBC)
The company said in the news release that repairs to the bow visor are now ahead of schedule and expected to be completed by Dec. 3.
"Assuming this occurs, MV Confederation will return to service Dec. 6. If the remaining work is completed earlier than Dec. 3, MV Confederation will return to service as soon as safely possible to do so," NFL said in the release.
When the boat returns, it will operate four round trips daily until the end of the sailing season on Dec. 20, the company said.
NFL also provided an update on its investigation into the Confederation's collision with the wharf.
While the company initially indicated the accident was caused by a mechanical issue with the ferry, Wednesday's news release said: "We are now in a position to state that mechanical failure was not a contributing factor to the incident. Once the investigation is completed, dedicated effort will be put towards addressing the causes so that NFL can ensure that lessons are learned from the event."
Service has been shut down for months
The timeline for the Confederation's return means the ferry service will have been shut down for more than two months this season.
A week after MV Confederation hit the wharf, MV Saaremaa was sidelined with two of its four engines out of commission.
The MV Saaremaa had to return to its owner in Quebec in October before repairs to its engines were completed. (Victoria Walton/CBC)
NFL was leasing that boat and repairs weren't finished before the arrangement expired, so the Saaremaa had to return to its Quebec owners on Oct. 26.
The Saaremaa's hull design makes it less able to sail when the winds pick up on the Northumberland Strait, a fact that led to frequent cancellations during the 2024 season.
It's expected to be replaced next season by a Norwegian ferry, MV Fanafjord, which Transport Canada bought earlier this year.
Northumberland Ferries has seen a cascading set of issues since the government-owned MV Holiday Island caught fire in July 2022 and had to be scrapped.
A new ferry was promised by the federal government back in 2019, but the project is still in the design phase and no vessel is expected to arrive before 2028 at the earliest.