The ferry crossing between Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island will be canceled again on Monday as officials grapple with the aftermath of a fire at the MV Holiday Island.
The fourth day of cancellations during a period of peak demand comes as a blow to the region’s tourism industry as it continues to recover from the pandemic shutdown.
Yet it also highlights the ability of maritime travelers to come together in difficult times, even as the ferry company’s chief executive has opened its doors to stranded passengers.
The cause of the fire in the engine room of MV Holiday Island is yet to be ascertained.
“We believe it was from the main engine ahead, but it will take some time for us to get into that space,” Northumberland Ferries vice president Don Cormier said during a media briefing on Sunday.
“We want to make sure there is no chance of a fire.”
MV Holiday Island crosses the Northumberland Strait between Caribou, NS, and Wood Islands, PEI; According to marine traffic websites, the vessel was built in the 1970s and is approximately 98 meters long. It carries vehicles and passengers.
The ship is operated by Northumberland Ferries on behalf of Transport Canada and inspected annually by Lloyd’s Register, said Julie Gascon, director general of maritime safety and security with Transport Canada.
It was last inspected on May 11, 2022, he said during a media briefing.
Tug boats took the ship to berth on the Wood Islands on Sunday. A control boom was then installed around the ship, said Ben Macdonald, deputy superintendent of environmental response with the Coast Guard.
“At this time, no pollution has been observed,” he said during the briefing, adding that the ship was being closely monitored for any potential environmental concerns.
Prince Edward Islanders rallied together over the weekend to help stranded passengers as emergency evacuations took place from the ferry on Friday after a fire broke out as it neared the Wood Islands.
About 230 passengers left the ship using an inflatable slide and were carried ashore by seafarers, including fishing boats, rescue craft and even a yacht.
The emergency left vacationers without a vehicle or in many cases a place to stay during peak tourism season.
“We had a lot of offers to put passengers in their actual homes,” Cormier said, noting that retired employees also pitched in to help out customers.
“Islands pledged their support and appeared on the site to assist.”
While the company managed to find commercial accommodation for most of the customers, they said the head of Northumberland Ferry hosted a few families on Friday night.
“This is one of the busiest weeks of the year in tourism at PEI,” said Mark McDonald, chairman and CEO of Northumberland Ferries.
“We marshaled a team of people to look after our clients who were displaced by the accident … but it was clear that there were some people who weren’t taken care of and I was concerned about them.”
So the head of the yacht company did what he says any islander would do: He opened his door.
“I said, ‘My wife and I would be happy to pick them up ourselves’, so we had a group of eight people – five adults and three young children – stay with us.”
The PEI boat was attached to the berth as soon as the work commenced to ensure that the fire was completely doused.
Once word got out in the community, McDonald’s said neighbors started dropping food and offered help.
“It’s just a small thing that we were very happy to do under the circumstances, in such a difficult situation.”
Meanwhile, by Sunday the ship was moved to a berth in Wood Islands, PEI, where vehicles could be landed.
Cormier said there was no apparent damage to the vehicles.
The Northumberland Ferry is expected to resume service between the maritime provinces on Tuesday.
He said the schedule usually included MV Holiday Island and MV Confederation, both making four round trips between Caribou and the Wood Islands.
It is unclear what the new schedule will be with the MV Holiday Island.
However, Cormier said that during a significant service disruption in 2016, MV Confederation was able to accommodate 85 percent of conventional traffic.
While MV Confederation operates year-round, he said MV Holiday Island is primarily used in peak season.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 24, 2022.