No damage to new ferry for N.S.-P.E.I. run after pipes froze during voyage, company says
Issue recently raised by federal Conservative candidate James Aylward
The new vessel for the ferry service between Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia experienced minor issues during its transatlantic voyage but suffered no damage, says the company that operates the service.
MV Northumberland, which was acquired by Transport Canada for around $40 million, is currently docked in Pictou, N.S. Formerly named MV Fanafjord, the ship began its journey from Norway last December and arrived here in January.
The ferry service across the Northumberland Strait has been inconsistent since the MV Holiday Island had to be scrapped following a fire aboard the ship in 2022.
Last season, MV Confederation, the other vessel on the run, collided with the wharf and was out of service for weeks so damage could be repaired.
MV Saaremaa, which Transport Canada leased from Quebec after Holiday Island was scrapped, is not designed for the often windy conditions on the strait, leading to frequent cancellations.
Northumberland is expected to be a more reliable vessel for the service.
But during a recent roundtable discussion on CBC's Island Morning with candidates running in P.E.I.'s federal Cardigan riding, Conservative candidate James Aylward raised concerns about the new vessel.
"She's now over on the Nova Scotia side tied up with burst pipes because it wasn't winterized properly," Aylward said.
He elaborated later that day on social media: "This ferry was left unwinterized when it arrived from Norway, resulting in many of the pipes freezing and bursting. We are now hearing that her new diesel engines were damaged from this total lack of maintenance and mismanagement."
Ferry 'ready to go'
Mark Wilson, president and CEO of Northumberland Ferries Ltd., said there were issues with pipes during the vessel's trip from Bermuda to Pictou, the final leg of its voyage.
The vessel is designed to Norwegian specifications and the ship's freshwater pipes were insulated, Wilson said.
"We experienced some very extreme winter conditions, resulting in some frozen freshwater pipes on the car deck," he told CBC News.
"I wouldn't really classify it necessarily as a repair. We just found a solution to the issue and made it right."
Wilson said it was a "relatively quick fix."
"That didn't cause any damage anywhere throughout the ship," he said.
"In terms of the diesel engines on the vessel, everything is in good working order, sailed well across the Atlantic, and the engines are brand new and ready to go [into] service this upcoming season."
Wilson added that the company does not report minor maintenance issues to Transport Canada.
Crew training and sea trials
The ferry service is scheduled to resume for the season in May.
Northumberland Ferries traditionally uses one ferry, MV Confederation, in the shoulder seasons and two during peak months.
Wilson said preparations for MV Northumberland's inaugural season are well underway, with crew training ongoing.
The ferry will be out for dock fits next week, he said, then will undergo extensive sea trials from both ports for the remainder of April.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Toronto Star
6 hours ago
- Toronto Star
Mark Carney is setting the tone for the G7 and he knows the cost of playing it safe is irrelevance
By Contributing Columnist Jaime Watt is the executive chairman of Navigator Ltd. and a Conservative strategist. He is a freelance contributing columnist for the Star. @jaimewatt. It would be safe — perhaps even generous — to say that Prime Minister Mark Carney is stepping into a minefield of diplomatic hazards, moral compromise, and geopolitical volatility ahead of the G7 this week in Kananaskis, Alberta. Turn right, and you might face (his attendance is unclear at the time of writing) the Prime Minister of India — whose government stands accused by Canada of orchestrating an assassination on Canadian soil. Opinion articles are based on the author's interpretations and judgments of facts, data and events. More details
Winnipeg Free Press
7 hours ago
- Winnipeg Free Press
UK to hold national inquiry into organized child sexual abuse after pressure from Musk
LONDON (AP) — The British government announced Saturday it will hold a national inquiry into organized child sexual abuse, something it has long been pressured to do by opposition politicians — and Elon Musk. Prime Minister Keir Starmer said he would accept a recommendation from an independent reviewer for a judge-led inquiry with the power to summon witnesses. Starmer said he would 'look again' and hold a probe into what the press have dubbed 'grooming gangs' of men who prey on often young and vulnerable women. In some of the most high-profile cases to come to trial, the perpetrators were men of Pakistani heritage, and the issue has been taken up by right-of-center politicians including Reform UK leader Nigel Farage, and stoked by Musk, who took to his X platform to condemn Starmer over the issue. Musk criticized Starmer for not backing a national inquiry into the matter following a request from the local authority in the northern English town of Oldham, where police found girls under 18 were sexually exploited by groups of men in the 2000s and 2010s. Musk also alleged that Starmer failed to bring perpetrators to justice when he was England's chief prosecutor between 2008 and 2013, a charge that the prime minister vigorously denied. Because the cases in Oldham and similar ones in several other towns involved predominantly white girls abused by men largely from Pakistani backgrounds, the issue has been used to link child sexual abuse to immigration, and to accuse politicians of covering up the crimes out of a fear of appearing racist. A 2022 report into what happened in the northwest England town of Oldham between 2011 and 2014 found that children were failed by local agencies, but that there was no cover-up despite 'legitimate concerns' that the far-right would capitalize on 'the high-profile convictions of predominantly Pakistani offenders across the country.' In January the government said it would support several local inquiries into child exploitation in cities where gangs of men were prosecuted. It had previously said there was no need for further investigations following a string of previous inquiries, both local and national. A seven-year inquiry was held under the previous Conservative government, but many of the 20 recommendations it made in 2022 — including compensation for abuse victims — have yet to be implemented. Starmer's government also asked Louise Casey, an expert on victim's rights and social welfare, to review previous findings. Her review has been submitted to the government but has not yet been published. 'I have never said we should not look again at any issue,' Starmer said as he flew to Canada for a Group of Seven summit. 'I have wanted to be assured that on the question of any inquiry. That's why I asked Louise Casey who I hugely respect to do an audit. 'Her position when she started the audit was that there was not a real need for a national inquiry over and above what was going on. She has looked at the material she has looked at and she has come to the view that there should be a national inquiry on the basis of what she has seen. 'I have read every single word of her report and I am going to accept her recommendation.' The main opposition Conservative Party offered a swift response. 'Those in authority deliberately covered up the systematic rape of thousands of girls as young as 10 because the perpetrators were mainly of Pakistani origin. They thought race relations were more important than protecting young girls,' Conservative law and order spokesman Chris Philp said. 'The truth must now come out and people in positions of authority responsible for the cover up held to account.'
CBC
14 hours ago
- CBC
Inuvik liquor store to open on Sundays for the summer
That's not very common in the North, where most territorial liquor stores are closed on Sundays. The owner says it's to better serve tourists and out-of-towners. The CBC's Dez Loreen has more.
