Location: Central Nova, Nova Scotia / Cardigan, Prince Edward Island
Issue/Source: Transport Canada
Date: November 29, 2022
Suggested Responses
- Following the fire on-board the MV Holiday Island in July 2022, Transport Canada worked with the ferry operator to support the resumption of service as soon as possible.
- Northumberland Ferries chartered the MV Saaremaa from the Société des traversiers du Québec to replace the MV Holiday Island on the Wood Island, PEI - Caribou, NS route for the remainder of the peak season and part of the fall shoulder season.
- The new ferry replacing the MV Holiday Island, being designed and built at Chantier Davie, is not expected to enter service until 2028.
- Transport Canada is working with the ferry operator to identify longer-term options to replace the MV Holiday Island, including chartering the MV Saaremaa for the 2023 operating season.
Background Information
- Through the Ferry Services Contribution Program, TC provides funding to private operators to support three inter-provincial ferry services in Eastern Canada, including service between: (i) Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island and Caribou, Nova Scotia; (ii) Îles-de-la-Madeleine, Quebec and Souris, Prince Edward Island; (iii) Saint John, New Brunswick and Digby, Nova Scotia.
- The vessels and terminals used to provide the services are owned by TC and are leased to the operators for a nominal amount.
- Budget 2019 announced that the Government would procure two new vessels from a Canadian shipyard to replace the MV Madeleine and the MV Holiday Island as both ferries were at the end of their useful lives.
- On Friday, July 22, 2022, there was an engine fire on-board the MV Holiday Island. While no one was injured, the MV Holiday Island was damaged beyond repair and has been declared a total loss. The ferry operator chartered the MV Saaremaa from August 20, 2022, to approximately October 14, 2022.
- On November 16, 2022, Public Services and Procurement Canada awarded a contract to R. J. MacIsaac Construction of Antigonish, NS to dispose of the MV Holiday Island in an environmentally conscious manner.
- Transport Canada is working collaboratively with the ferry operator on all options to ensure that a second vessel is in service in 2023 and until the new ferry being designed and built by Chantier Davie is ready for service. Pre-construction activities on the new vessel are progressing and preliminary design is expected to be completed in Spring 2023. The replacement is expected to be ready for service in 2028.