End of the Ferry Tale

Old-time fairy tales ended with "they lived happily ever after". Old time ferry tales - despite sounding the same - unfortunately end at the scrap yard. And such is the case for one of a long line of ferries that once joined New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island.

The narrow stretch of the Northumberland Strait between Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick and Borden, Prince Edward Island (sometimes referred to as the Abegeweit Passage) was long the favoured crossing route joining the "island province" with the mainland. The Canadian government operated the service, with management by the Canadian National Railway and then their subsidiary CN Marine, which along with the railroad was later privatized as Marine Atlantic. The ferries themselves were owned for the government of Canada by the Minister of Transport.

The 12,900 meter (8 mile) long Confederation Bridge (under construction in the background) meant the end of year round ferry service between Borden and Cape Tormentine.

 In winter it was ruggged ice class ships that maintained the crossing, but in summer there were additional craft to meet the demands of the tourist trade. These featured more open decks that allowed passengers to enjoy the "sea breezes" during the crossings.

 The summer ferries in their winter quarters at Borden. The open decks were tarped in to permit maintenance work.

 

When the Confederation Bridge opened for car and truck traffic, at essentially the same location, the Borden / Tormentine ferry route was discontinued. The ferries were sold off, with the exception of the summer ferry Holiday Island which was transferred to the seasonal Caribou, Nova Scotia to Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island service, operated by Northumberland Ferries Ltd (NFL).

 It soldiered on in that role until 2022 when it had an engine room fire resulting in a constructive total loss. It was eventually broken up in 2023 in Sheet Harbour, NS.

The sister summer ferry Vacationland was proposed to operate from Black's Harbour, New Brunswick to Grand Manan Island, NB. It was renamed Fundy Paradise but it was unsuited to sea conditions, and was also too large for the port facilites, so it was sold off too.

By this time the ship was beyond its "best before date" and was then laid up in Liverpool and Sydney, NS then Sorel, QC and finally Quebec City in  2010. Plans to convert the ship to a sand dredge for use on the St.Lawrence River came to naught when the holders of the existing dredging contract blocked the idea. 

With no particular plans for the future the ship languished at various berths in Quebec City, building up port fees and continuing to deteriorate.
 

Finally this spring arrangements were made to scrap the ship at the Marine Recycling Corp's North Sydney, NS, yard. On Sunday, May 11 the tug W.N.Twolan pulled the hulk out of Quebec City. To keep the tow on the straight and narrow, the Quebec City-based tug Océan Raynald T. was stern tethered escort downstream as far as the Cacouna area.

The Fundy Paradise and sister Holiday Island were built by Port Weller Dry Dock in1971. They measured 3139 gt and had a capacity for 405 passengers and 155 vehicles. They operated as double enders with loading ramps and navigation bridges fore and aft. They were powered by two Ruston V-16 engines totalling 7250 bhp, driving Voith-Schneider cycloidal propulsors fore and aft.

The ships were originally to be named after two "Fathers of Confederation", from Prince Edward Island.  The names selected were William Pope (1825-1879) and Thomas Haviland (1822-1895). (Their roles in Canada's late nineteenth century history are far too complex to go into here.) The tourism marketing experts apparently weighed in on the choices, and they were soon dropped. The proposed William Pope became the Holiday Island and the Thomas Haviland became the Vacationland.

 With the imminent scrapping of the Fundy Paradise there remains only one ship still afloat from the old Borden-Tormentine route and that is the 1947 built Abegweit which since 1983 has served as floating headquarters for the Columbia Yacht Club in Chicago. Safely berthed in fresh water, it will likely last longer than I will.

The W.N.Twolan and Fundy Paradise arrived in North Sydney May 15.

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Prince Edward Island ferry update

 It was reported today, November 13, that ferry service to Prince Edward Island may resume December 6. The service was suspended after the ferry Confederation alided with the dock at Wood Island PE September 15 and damaged its bow visor and a portion of the hull. The second ferry, Saaremaa I was also removed from service in September with engine malfunctions.

Saarema I, on "loan" (in the form of a bare boat charter) from the Société des Traversiers du Quebec (STQ) until the end of October, instead sailed (on three of its four engines) from Wood Islands on October 27. It is now laid up in Trois-Rivières. A spare ferry in the STQ fleet, it was brought in as a replacement for the Holiday Island which was declared a total loss (and since scrapped) after a fire in 2022. A longer term replacement, the Norwegian Fanafjord, renamed Northumberland is presently undergoing sea trials in Norway and is expected to be in service for the 2025 season. It is supposed to serve until 2028 when a permanent replacement arrives. (I am not betting on that date.)

 Confederation is under repair at the CME Pictou Shipyard, with the bow visor removed and placed under cover. A suggestion that the ship could operate without the visor was not followed up due to the time needed to make a technical application to regulators. (Car deck flooding is a sensitive issue after several notorious sinkings with large loss of life. Authorities and classification Societies are understandably very wary of any possibility of a repeat.) 

Operators Northumberland Ferries Ltd (NFL) have announced that the repairs to the bow visor and the ship's apron, should be completed in time to resume service on December 6. They have also stated that the alision with the wharf was not caused by any mechanical malfunction, contrary to media reports at the time.

(The Caribou, NS to Wood Island, PE service is seasonal and usually closes down during ice season, from January to late May.)

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PEI and other ferry news

 News Item 1 

 The federal government confirmed today (November 16) the purchase of the ferry Fanafjord from Norwegian owners, for CAN$ 38.6 million. The ship will be used on the Wood Islands, PE - Caribou, NS, May to December seasonal service as a temporary replacement for the Holiday Island. A new ferry is in the design stage and may be delivered in 2026.

 Holiday Island

The Holiday Island was declared a constructive total loss after a fire in 2022 and has since been scrapped. For the 2023 summer season, operators Northumberland Ferries Ltd (NFL) were able to borrow a spare ferry from the Société des Traversiers du Québec, the Quebec provincial ferry service. That ship, the Saaremaa I, (a 5233 gt ship, built in 2010) returned to Quebec in October. It could have been recalled at any time if needed in Quebec.

Saaremaa I

Despite reliability issues with the other PEI ferrry, the Confederation, there is no news about its replacement, which is also needed.

Confederation

 Built in 1993 by Ferguson Industries Ltd in Pictou, NS, the 8060 gt Confederation is the main ship on the route. Supplemental service in the peak summer season was provided by the Holiday Island although it had to be used in the shoulder seasons when Confederation was out of service.

The "new" Fanafjord was built in 2007 and at 6904 gt it is barely big enough for the secondary boat use, and will be inadequate if needed to fill in for the Confederation.

Interestingly the Fanafjord is a dual fuel vessel, able to use diesel or LNG, and carried the name Greenferry I for a year from 2021 to 2022. Since there is no nearby means of refueling with LNG, I expect that it will be using diesel fuel exclusively during its Prince Edward Island tenure. 

News Item 2

There has been considerable adverse reaction to news that the Saint John, NB to Digby, NS ferry Fundy Rose will be redeployed for an indefinite period in 2024. A vital link for western Nova Scotia fish products headed for the United States, its removal for even a short period of time will have serious consequences. The road alternative to the ferry would mean a second driver would be required in order to get time sensitive product to market while respecting driver hour limits. Toursim would also be effected depending on the timing of the disruption.

Fundy Rose

The plan is for the Fundy Rose to move to the Souris, PE to Cap-aux-Meules (Grindstone) Magdalen Islands route while its ferry Madeleine II goes to mandatory drydocking in rhe spring of 2024. 

That service requires more robust, sea-going type ships. Madeleine II, built in 2008 is a 15,875 gt ship and itself is an interim vessel until a replacement is delivered. Fundy Rose is a 10,193 gt ship built in 1999 and is also a marginal replacement - even on a temporary basis. 

I wonder if the Magdelan Island operators C.T.M.A. will also reactivate the ancient C.T.M.A. Vacançier (11,481 gt, built in 1973) which has been held in warm layup in Georgetown, PE since the suspension of its passenger service from Montreal in 2020, and occasional replacement service. (Its own replacement by the New Zealand ferry Straitsman has long been rumoured but nothing has been said since February of this year.)

C.T.M.A. Vacançier

 

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Ferry Woes (a continuing saga) - updated

Will they ever learn?

Canadian ferry services have been contentious since Confederation (1867 for the record). Just as other governments use hospital and school building as political footballs, so do the federal politicans use ferries. Getting elected by promising, getting re-elected by delivering. The federal government can be accused of the same tactics in all government shipbuilding, but a few years ago they did develop a plan for Navy and Coast Guard ships, which is actually working to deliver overdue replacements. The same planners then apparently went on vacation leaving only a few vague statements about ferries and no firm plans. Due to their high political sensitivity, ferries cannot be left in the hands of civil servants, but must be ham handed by politicians.

As of today there are up to half a dozen sizeable ferries that need replacements in the next year to five years in eastern Canada alone. (Some are provincial, some federal). Old ships must thus carry on with the risk of breakdowns and disruption to essential or near essential services virtually guaranteed.

 It is not just an "if it ain't broke don't fix it" mentality that results in the all too common crises. It is more a "don't plan ahead", and "only act in an emergency" scenario. Even though the emergencies are self-inflicted, the pols somehow manage to skew their delayed responses into heroism.

The Prince Edward Island ferry service has been a typical political football, which has again reached a crisis with the only ship out of service for an indefinite period due to a mechanical issue. The Confederation Bridge, which was built as a reliable year round "fixed link" to the mainland replaced the primary ferry service between Cape Tormentine, NB and Borden, PE. The bridge has certainly proven to be a success and is only closed to traffic during especially severe weather. (Being a public /private partnership likely helps too.).  However it does not serve the eastern end of the island and northern Nova Scotia as readily, nor does it provide the seagoing experience enjoyed by tourists.

The John Hamilton Grey works it way toward Cape Tormentine in spring ice with the Confederation Bridge nearing completion in the background. The ferry was retired a month later.

 The ferry operation at the eastern end of the island, between Caribou, NS and Wood Islands, PE was initially promoted in the 1930s by local businesses and since the opening of the Confederation Bridge, has continued to be a useful, if secondary connection. It is a seasonal operation from May to December, and until last year had two ferries - one of which only operated during the peak tourist season. One of its major sources of revenue, aside from passengers, is trucking produce from Prince Edward Island to the Port of Halifax. (The ships are owned by the federal Minister of Transport and managed  by the private company Northumberland Ferries Ltd).

The late lamented Holiday Island. Built orginally for summer service on the Cape Tormentine / Borden route.

However there were signs of trouble as long ago as 2020 when the reliability of the ships came into question - largely due to their age - and the larger of the two ships was taken out of service for a time. Things came to a head last year when the older and smaller ship Holiday Island caught fire July 22 and became a total loss. That left the Confederation to soldier on alone for a time. Luckily the ferry Saaremaa 1 was available in Quebec and managers Northumberland Ferries Ltd (NFL) scrambled to orient crews, and adapt the ship and the terminals, thus salvaging some of the sailing season. (Quebec's ferry horror stories are outside the realm of this blog, but the provincial government owned Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ) has had its own crises in recent years. The Saaremaa 1 was acquired by the STQ as a back-up for the temperamental F.-A.-Gauthier on the Matane / Baie Comeau / Godbout route.) 

The use of the Saarema 1 came with some strings attached. If the STQ needed the Saarema 1 they could call it back at any time. Fortunately the F.-A.-Gauthier behaved for the rest of the 2022 season and the Saaremaa I was not needed in Quebec.

For 2023 the Saaremaa 1 is again available, on the same conditional terms, but for some strange reason went into drydock at Méchins, QC on about June 8 - just when it should have been mobilized for the PEI tourist season. Instead it was initially reported that it would not be available until July 10, but even that date is now in doubt.

Supposedly a permanent replacement for the Holiday Island was in the works last year, and had been for some time, but no contract has been awarded for construction, so it could be up to five years before a new ship is available*. When on June 17 of this year the Confederation suffered a mechanical issue and was thus inoperable, there was no alternative but to cancel all service until further notice. Not only does this impact the PEI tourism sector (a major part of the island's revenue) but trucking produce away from the island and bringing in material, such as aggregates, is severely hsampered. The added time and cost of using the Confederation bridge will eat into many other aspects of the province's economy.

The problem with the Confederation has been described as the failure of a mechanical flexible coupling in the ship's drive train. Since the part is not "off the shelf" anymore a replacement must be custom made, with an estimate of at least a month, not including installation.

If memory serves, the flexible coupling was part of a propulsion system designed to be installed by shipyards of limited technical expertise. Shaft alignment requires a high level of precision which not all shipyards can offer. The flexible coupling allows for looser tolerances, but is subject to a high degree of wear - such was the trade off for construction of the ship orginally - and thereby hangs a tale.

The legend has it that the revered member of federal parliament for the Pictou area stood before a gathering and announced a new ferry and that it would be built at the local Pictou Industries Ltd shipyard. Since the federal Department of Transport would own (and therefore pay for) the ship it was assumed that the project had the approval of federal Cabinet and the Prime Minister. It transpires however that they all learned about the project at the same time as the assembled voters at the meeting. The member announcing the new ship and naming its builder, did so on his own initiative (or so the story goes) as part of a promise to his mother.

The problem was that the project was well beyond the shipyard's recent experience. The shipyard in Pictou had a storied history and had built many ships including ferries, under previous owner ship, but much of the experise had retired or moved on. Although Pictou Industries Ltd had built some trawlers too, but not for several years, it had become essentially a repair yard.

In order to build the ship in Pictou, I understand that an arrangement was made with a European shipbuilder to design the ship for ease of construction and perhaps even pre-fab some critical components. That meant the Pictou yard's role was more to assemble and finish out the ship, and to install some of the more demanding pre-fab components. Hence the flexible coupling that allowed for looser tolerances in shaft alignment.

 

Now of course the Confederation, as it has been called, is thirty (!) years old and some of that high degree of wear has taken its toll. It is a "double ender" with central engines and propulsors at both ends allowing it to enter and leave terminals without turning.

Despite the current "crisis" there has still been no announcement** about a permanent Holiday Island replacement or even better, a Confederation replacement (thirty years is old even for a seasonal ferry). Plus ça change!

Perhaps some inspired politician will address a public meeting somewhere during his summer break ...

Updates:

* A November 29, 2022 annoucement from the government stated that Davie shipyard in Lévis, QC would be designing and building the Holiday Island replacement for delivery in 2028. (One year later than when its funding was announced in the 2019 federal budget.) Davie has experience with inland waters ferry construction including the two dual fuel Baie-Ste-Catherine / Tadoussac ferries delivered in 2018 (which took at least five years to design and build.)

 ** I should have written "recent" announcement - because while I was writing it there was a new communication from Transport Canada. News reports on June 28 state that Transport Canada reaffirmed the 2028 delivery date, and that the ship will be a diesel and electric hybrid. It is currently in the design stage at the Davie shipyard. 

 2.   There was no mention of a Confederation replacement. My guess is that the Holiday Island replacement may be a bare bones type, useful for peak summer / good weather service only. The Confederation replacement will have to be a more substantial vessel capable of working from May to December. If so, it will serve as a useful political football with a series of announcements, promised delivery dates and shipyard selections stretching out into the 2030s. By then the Confederation will be forty years old, will have broken down countless more times and service will have been irregular. It may force the government to acquire a second hand vessel from Europe or some other desperate measure.

3. A sitting government MP from PEI, Lawrence MacAulay, was also quoted as saying that the Saaremaa 1 has been engaged again for 2024, but that he "hopes" it will be ready before July. Obviously he was not willing to make unilateral committments for his government. Good boy.

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Alfred Needler and other old government ships

 The Canadian Coast Guard announced February 9 that it will not be repairing the CCGS Alfred Needler after the most recent incidents (See previous posts of December 22 and January 19) when the ship had equipment failures and was damaged while alongside at the BIO dock. They have cancelled a planned $5 million refit which was intended to squeeze a few more years of service out of the forty year old research trawler. They have determined that the ship is beyond repair and that further expenditure would not return it to safe operation.

Instead the ship will be prepared for what they politely refer to as "deconstruction" and "environmentally sound disposal." That means scrapping (in Canada) following safe regulations.

The announcement follows the retirement of CCGS Hudson late last year. A contract to demolish that research veteran (at sixty years of age) was awarded to R.J.MacIsaac Construction Ltd (RJMI). They took over "care and custody" of the ship, and in the spring of 2023 will tow it to Sheet Harbour for final disposal. In the meantime RJMI has moved the ship to Pier 9C in Halifax where it awaits the tow.

According to the CCGS press release in December, once the ship arrives in Sheet Harbour there will be a process of hazardous material remediation and disposal.

Then by Fall 2023, the vessel will be removed from the water and the hull and superstructure will be disassembled. The overall project is expected to be completed by the end of Fall 2023.

As per the press release "RJMI will ensure that any steel, stainless steel, aluminum, or other recyclable materials onboard the vessel are recycled while non-recyclable materials are disposed of in an environmentally-responsible manner, in compliance with federal, provincial, and municipal regulations. As well, the contractor will salvage and return the CCGS Hudson's hull transducers and propellers to the CCG."

There has been no visible activity on the Hudson at Pier 9C, and as of this morning, February 10, it still remains intact. RJMI's facility in Sheet Harbour is currently dismantling the fire damaged ferry Holiday Island.

That work is expected to have advanced enough by spring that room can be found for the Hudson.

As for the Alfred Needler there are other contractors that could also bid on the work, and since it is a much smaller ship there could be several locations to do it.

It was also recently announced that the Coast Guard itself has begin to demolish in place the former CCGS Tupper at Marie Joseph, NS. The ship was sold by the Coast Guard in 2000 for conversion to a yacht and renamed Caruso but work never took place and after a fire in 2008 it was sold to a scrapper and towed to Marie Joseph in 2011. Scrapping was never completed and the Coast Guard undertook to remove the remains as a pollution threat. They will likely also demolish the tug Craig Trans at the same location and attempt to recover costs from the same owner. See previous post of June 21, 2011 and April 4, 2021.

There was been a long list of "dreamers" buying former government ships with schemes to reuse or convert them, but the ships usually ended up abandonned when funds ran out, or were involved in smuggling operations. None of this did any credit to the government or to Canada. In recent years, whether intentionally or not, surplus government craft have been few and as per the first three ships mentoned above, were in no state to be reused and so have been sold to be dismantled appropriately.

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End of the Year, End of the Line

 As the year 2022 comes to an end so do the careers of several ships from the region. At least four ships  are soon to be no more as the scrappers torches may already be at work.

Two ships from Newfoundland are included, both known in Halifax at one time in their careers.

 Number 1

The tug now known as the Matterhorn was built in 1956 for the Royal Canadian navy as the St.Charles ATA 533 and was based at HMC Dockyard in Halifax. Although intended to tow large navy vessels up to and including aircraft carriers it was frequently relegated to towing gunnery targets (some of which were old ships.) In 1994 it was sold to Secunda Marine Service and renamed Chebucto Sea, and saw varied duties, including a disastrous bareboat charter that resulted in a lengthy legal proceeding. A Newfoundland company became the owners in 2009. In 2014 while lying in Mount Carmel, NL, and with the name of Matterhorn, the tug sank at its berth.

With a gunnery target on the hip, the tug was returning to port in this photo.

There have been several accounts, and many photos of this tug and its two sister tugs in my Tugfax blog:

June 18, 2012 and February 18, 2015

After several years of trying to make the owners responsible for removing pollutants from the hulk, the Canadian Coast Guard took over cleanup efforts recently and removed a 256,7000 liters of oil / water. It appears that they had to raise the wreck to do so, and  it is likely that it will now have to be cut up in place as it is well beyond any poteantial salvage.

Number 2

 Also in Newfoundland, but in the port of Grand Bank, the Canadian Coast Guard removed 292,537 liters of oily waste from the abandoned fishing vessel Atlantic Pursuit. It was damaged in a storm in the year 2006 and was towed into port then moved to different ports under different owners who never seemed to be able to get the ship back into operating condition. It was even sold off for scrap but never broken up.

Built in 1976 as an offshore supplier / pipe carrier it was converted in 1988 to an offshore clam dredger. I have recounted its history here March 10, 2016.

The ship has now been towed by the McKeil Marine tug Beverly M 1 to Sydport, NS, arriving December 12, where it will be broken up by Marine Recycling Corp.

Two more ships will be broken up in Nova Scotia.

 Number 3

The tug Irving Beech is soon to arrive in Wood Island, PE to take away the burned out ferry Holiday Island. An engine room fire on July 22, 2022 resulted in irreparable damage to the ship. Fortunately all passengers and crew were rescued. 

Built in 1971 to operate seasonally between Cape Tormentine, NB and Borden PE, with sister ship Vacationland, it was moved to the Caribou, NS to Wood Islands PE crossing when the Confederation Bridge was completed in 1997.

Now the Antigonish, NS based company R.J.MacIsaac Construction Ltd has been contracted for $1.6 mn to scrap the ship. It will be towed to Sheet Harbour, NS where the work of removing hazardous materials and cutting it up is to be completed by Febrary 28, 2024.
 

Number 4

The same  R.J.MacIsaac Company has also been sontracted to break up the CCGS Hudson (see my post of November 30, 2022. ) However cutting up will not begin immediately. First the ship will be moved from its berth at the Bedford Institute to another location in Halifax Harbour where initial work will be carried out. It will eventually be towed to Sheet Harbour for scrapping. 

Even when showing obvious signs of deterioration, the Hudson's graceful lines could not be concealed.

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Ferry updates

 Part One

  Last month I reported on the ferries from various parts of Quebec, see Shipfax for July 14. Since that report there have been some interesting events, including the engine rrom fire on Holiday Island on July 22 that has resulted in the "loan" of the  Saarema 1 from the Société des Traversiers du Québec to Northumberland Ferries. Modifications to the ship and the wharves and training for the crew may be completed in time for the ship to enter service this week. If so that will ease the pressure on Confederation which has been making extra crossings. The Transportation Safety Board is investigating the cause of the fire on Holiday Island, and so far there has been no word on whether the ship can or will be repaired.

The Holiday Island (2018 photo) was built by Port Weller Drydocks in St.Catharines, ON in 1971 for seasonal service between Cape Tormentine, NB and Borden, PE. Owned by the Minister of Trasnsport, it was one of two ferries built at the same time, originally operated by CN Marine (later Marine Atlantic). When the Confederation Bridge was built the Holiday Island was transfered to the Caribou, NS / Wood Islands, PE route under the operation of Northumberland Ferries Ltd. The sister ferry Vacationland, after an unsuccessful time as the Fundy Paradise on Grand Manan service, was sold to a Quebec company. Their plans to convert it to a dredge pumping station never took place and it remains languishing in Quebec City as a near derelict still bearing the now awkward name of Fundy Paradise. 

Interestingly the sister ferries were launched bearing the names of two Fathers of Canadian Confederation, who were from Prince Edward Island. The names were changed before the ships entered service; William Pope became the Holiday Island and Thomas Haviland was renamed Vacationland.

The Federal Government's March 2019 budget contained provisions for a replacement of the Holiday Island but little progress seems to have been made since then. Whether Saarema 1 can be depended on for service after this season remains unknown but it seems likely the Minister of Transport is shopping. 

It is certain that there will be no repeat of the early 1990s event when the member of Parliament for the Pictou riding announced that a new ferry would be built at the Pictou shipyard, apparently without discussing it with anyone else in government. Such was his power in cabinet however that the Confederation was indeed built by Pictou Industries Ltd and delivered in 1993.

Part Two

 The "cruise ferry" C.T.M.A Vacançier as reported last month remained laid up in Georgetown, PE because it could  not be made to comply with COVID-19 isolation requirements. Its weekly tourist run from Montreal to the Magdalen Islands was cancelled and the ship's future was very much in limbo.

 

Now however it has re-entered service, but for freight only (trucks and vehicles) [I am assumimg this means unaccompanied vehicles] while its fleet mate CTMA Voyageur 2 is at the Chantier Maritime Verreault at Méchins, QC for engine repairs. The duration of repairs is expected to be a month.

CTMA Voyageur 2 (according to Transport Canada there are no periods between the letters of C,T,M, and A on this ships) is a 7606 gt, 5758 dwt RoRo ship acquired in 2019, which runs weekly from Montreal to Cap-aux-Meules, with cargo only. Built in 1999 by Astilleros Huelva in Spain as Lembitu it has carried the names 1998: Dart 7, 99: Lembitu, 00: Celtic Sun, 01: Lembitu, 05: RR Challenge, 07: Challenge, and 08: Clipper Ranger to 2019. 

The Madeleine II (the former Villa de Teror) acquired for service in 2021, runs from Souris, PE to Cap-aux-Meules for passengers, cars and trucks. It is said to be a "temporary" ship to be in use until 2026 when a new purpose built ship will go into service. Major modifications to the piers in Cap-aux-Meules ($11.8 mn) and Souris ($6.8mn) have been necessary however, with work still underway. 

Construction of the 15,875 gt Madeleine II was completed in 2019. Although it was laid down in 2007, original owners Viking Line cancelled the order in 2010 due to delays in construction and it was not until 2013 that another shipyard aquired the ship. It was launched, at Astilleros Sevilla, then moved to Vigo for completion by Factorias Vulcano, but there were still issues with construction delays and costs, and it was not until new owners were found in 2019 that the ship was finally made ready for service. It only operated for a few months between Spain and Morocco before the Minister of Transport acqiured the ship for the C.T.M.A  route. 

The absence of any Canadian civilian shipbuilding capability (until recently) has meant that a grab bag of ships have been purpose built or acquired in used c ondition from overseas. Most of the purchases have worked out well, but there have been exceptions. With new Canadian built replacements for Holiday Island (likely), Madeleine II and a couple of others I could mention, in the offing, it will be interesting to see if they do better.

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Madeleine II announced

The federal Minister of Transport has announced an interim solution to replace the ferry Madeleine that operates between Souris, PE and Cap-aux-Meules, Iles de la Madeleine (aka Grindstone, Magdalen Islands), QC.

Built in 1981 by Verolme Cork in Cobh [Cork] Ireland the current ship carried the names Leinster until 1993, Isle of Inishmore until 1996 and Isle of Inishturk until acquired by the Canadain government in 1997. It has been operated by C.T.M.A (founded as Co-opérative de Transport Maritime et Aérien) ever since, (and has been repainted from the above colours.)

It was previously announced that Davie, Lévis would be building a replacement ship, but since that will not be available until 2026 (at the earliest) the government has announced plans to acquire an interim ship to be named Madeleine II, which will be operated from 2021 until 2026 when it will be sold.

The ship they have selected is sailing in Morocco as Villa de Teror for Nav.Trasmediterranea under Cyprus flag. The ship has a slightly spotted history, which is well documented by Wikipedia and does not need to be repeated here. It does seem odd that it should be for sale so soon after entering service,  but perhaps it is a distress sale due to Covid-19.

For an entertaining read see: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MS_Villa_de_Teror

A "new" ship for the most part, it may be something of a white elephant when it comes time to sell it.  Let us hope that the Province of Quebec is no longer in the market for a ship in five years time. Based on the orginal Finnish desigm it should have a good ice rating, because it will be expected to run year round.

Davie will be building the new ferry - to be named Jean Lapierre and a replacement for Holiday Island which runs between Caribou, NS and Wood Islands, PE.

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Outport Report

With the possibility of winter weather coming soon, it was time to check in on nearby 'outports'.  before road travel becomes unpleasant.

Lunenburg is now home to a couple of globe trotting vessels, both of which have recently returned to port after their latest voyages.

Polar Prince, the former CCGS Sir Humphrey Gilbert (built 1959)  is tied up adjacent to Picton Castle  (built 1928).  Both vessels might be considered by some to be past their prime, but they are carrying on useful functions in research, and training and look set to continue in these roles for some time to come.

It was a  bright sunny day in Lunenburg on Wednesday as Picton Castle and Polar Prince await their next assignments. Picton Castle returned from its latest round the world trip in June, then joined Tall Ships events including a trip to the Great Lakes). Polar Prince returned to Lunenburg in late October after another summer in the north.

The future is not so bright for the vessel that appears between the two in the photo. Conversion of the trawler Primo to a sailing vessel appears to be stalled. It is listed as owned by the same owners as Picton Castle. Built in 1963 by Geo T. Davie + Sons Ltd in Lauzon, QC, it should have many more years left if work can be found for it.

Holiday Island hauled out in Pictou for refit.

The open decks are normally tarped in for the winter.

In Pictou the 1971-built summer ferry Holiday Island has been hauled out at the shipyard for refit. Replacement for the Voith-Schneider propelled ship has been the subject of speculation recently, but there did not seem to be much mention about it during the federal election. New construction seems the likely route in view of the dismal performance of some second hand ferries recently acquired in Europe.

Confederation approaching the Caribou, NS dock on its noon time crossing.

Its fleet mate Confederation was built in 1993 as a result of an election promise - (made by a sitting MP without the knowledge of his caucus or leader according to legend).  Its performance has not always been sterling either, and the Holiday Island is the go to boat. However with the season winding down it is running the Caribou, NS / Wood Island PE route solo.

What appears to be a former Province of Nova Scotia cable ferry is tied up near the shipyard,  less its wheelhouse.

Devoid of any name, but still equipped with at least one hydraulic ramp, the boat may have been converted to a work barge. It is possible that it is the former Englishtown ferry Angus MacAskill replaced in 2010. Since the Province of Nova Scotia does not register its ferries, it is difficult to trace individual units.

Tenders were supposed to close October 18 for two new cable ferries for the Province (one for Country Harbour and one for Little Narrows) but I have not heard the results yet.

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Ferry News, good and bad - Part 1: NS / PEI

Finally there was a glimmer of good news for Canada's beleaguered ferry systems in yesterday's federal budget. Supposing you had been able to hear the finance minster's presentation in the House of Commons, (it was drowned out by opposition memebers pounding their desks) you would have heard that a new ferry has been promised for the Northumberland Strait. The ferry service between Caribou, NS and Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island has been struggling in recent years with aging and inefficient craft. Both the existing ferries, Confederation and Holiday Island are owned by the federal government's Minister of Transport and operated by Northumberland Ferries Ltd, a Prince Edward Island based company.

Holiday Island built in 1971 for the Cape Tormentine, NB / Borden PE service, it was transferred to the second crossing after the opening of the Confederation Bridge in 1997, and it is the one to be replaced. 

Holiday Island is a double deck, doublend ship of fairly simple design. 

Now the not so great news. Holiday Island is to be replaced, the budget promises, with a newly built ship, but no timeline and no dollar figure was given. This means, in my mind, that if a new government comes in after the Autumn 2019 election, the process could be re-started or canceled altogether.

In view of the string of bad luck with foreign built ferries recently (see Newfoundland and Quebec in Part 2 and 3 of these posts) it is very likely that the boat will be built in Canada. The Davie shipyard in Quebec will no doubt be first in line to want that contract. Davie has now completed two new dual fuel diesel / LNG ferries that are not too different from what would be needed on the Caribou / Wood Islands run, so Davie can make a good case for itself.

As part of the budget, the current Federal subsidy to the service has been renewed until 2022. That might be long enough to get the new ferry into the construction stage, but also leaves room to open up competition for a ferry operator.

It is well known that the Woodward Group of Newfoundland would like to take on the service, and in fact it is believed they have access to a ferry that could be in service as early as this summer if wanted. Woodward has two ferries of similar design to Confederation, but ice class, in its fleet now. The first, Qajak W., has been operating between St.Barbe and Blanc Sablon this winter. Although hampered by unusually heavy ice this year, it seems to be doing well. As a used vessel acquired from Europe, it has had any bugs ironed out long ago. The advantage of a Woodward contract is that with three similar ferries in the fleet, they could rotate them out for maintenance. Particularly with the Northumberland service closed for the winter, the boat assigned to that run could operate elsewhere from December to May where its ice class rating would be of use.

However in order to extract the maximum political benefit out of the deal, the government is unlikely to go with the Woodward option.

Here's the scenario:
1. Promise the ferry now and get re-elected in October. Maybe deliver it later.
2. Build a new ferry in Canada, maybe in Quebec = votes in Quebec.
3. Renew contract with PEI company = votes in PEI.

Please remain in your seats. After a brief intermission, Part 2 of this episode will begin.

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Northern Nova Scotia oldies report

A day trip to some northern Nova Scotia ports turned up a few vessels of interest - all of then quite old!

In Pictou the venerable ferry Holiday Island was certainly not looking its age as it reposed on the slip at the Pictou Shipyard. The ferry was built by Port Weller Dry Dock in 1971 for service between Cape Tormentine, NB and Borden, PE.  It was to be named after father of Confederation William Pope, but was an early victim of branding and instead took the name Holiday Island. (Sister vessel, the intended Thomas Haviland, became Vacationland, then the Fundy Paradise but has been laid up in Quebec City for years).

Holiday Island, 3037 grt, with a capacity of 150 cars and 487 passengers was powered with two V-16 English Electric (Ruston Engine Division) engines totalling 7,250 bhp and driven by Voith Schneider cycloidal drives. These were among the very earliest North American uses of these drives, more commonly found on tugs. It was announced in 2013 that the ship would be re-engined, retaining the Voith drives. Current work is to replace operator and engine room controls and local pitch controls (which were manual rods and levers) with new electronic systems.

With the opening of the Confederation Bridge in 1997, the ship was transferred to the Caribou-Wood Islands run, operated by Northumberland Ferries Ltd. Last year considerable steel replacement work was required and ferry service was adversely affected because the ship was not ready in time the start of the sailing season in May. Again this year the larger fleet mate Confederation opened the season. It is expected that Holiday Island will be back in the water by the end of June to meet demand during peak summer.

At Mulgrave on the Strait of Canso the bulk carrier Savannah Pearl completed loading armour stone for Ocean Cay, Bahamas. The 30,000 tonne load was handled using the ship's own gear which consists of a pair of 35 tonne capacity mobile gantries with 10m outreach. The ship carries two 15 cubic meter and one 17 cubic meter grabs.

Savannah Pearl stowing hatch covers, preparing to sail.

 
The ship was built way back in 1985 by Hyundai, Ulsan as Charles L.D. for Louis Dreyfus of France. It was renamed Wren Arrow in 1990 by Gearbulk and carried that name until 2013 when it went to work for current owners SMT Shipping. The company specializes in bulk handling and operates a fleet of similar open hatch type ships, with box shaped holds and travelling gantries. Savannah Pearl has seven holds and seven hatches with a grt of 27,824 and a deadweight tonnage of 43,003.

Underway from Mulgrave.

Ocean Cay is an artificial island near Bimini that is undergoing a huge expansion for MSC Cruises that will include a new resort with hotels, shopping, beaches, marinas and other features. Most of the land created will be Nova Scotia (in a manner of speaking) since all the armour stone will be coming from here.

At Port Hawksbury another veteran ship was also preparing to head south. The RoRo Dutch Runner after several years in layup had dockside engine trials this morning and was preparing for over night sea trials.
Built by the late lamented J.J. Seitas shipyard in Neuenfelde in 1988 as North King, the 2279 grt, 3056 dwt ship was renamed Dutch Runner in 2000 and P+O Nedlloyd Douala from 2001 to 2002. It was acquired by the Canadian company Great Lakes Feeder Lines LLC and registered in Montreal in 2008. It worked between Halifax and St-Pierre, then on charter to Desgagnés for northern supply, made trips to the Great Lakes, ran to Labrador for CN out of Lewisporte and various other short lived ventures until laid up in Souris, PE in 2012. It was towed to Port Hawksbury in 2014 and current owners are hoping to get the ship to the Caribbean.

 Dutch Runner engine running - prop feathered. (The orange lifeboat does not belong to the ship - it is a shore based training facility)

The small ConRo has a pair of 35 tonne cranes and capacity of 219 TEU or 16 trailers. After so many years of layup it is a wonder that it can still operate - even under provisional Panama flag.

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Classics - time running out

There are a number of older ships still running in Canada despite all the predictions about their ultimate demise-but timwe is quickly running out for most of them.

The ferry Holiday Island sailed late this afternoon from Halifax Shipyard after a refit which included a sparkling new paint job. The ship is scheduled to be re-engined, which shows considerable faith by the Minister of Transport (her owner) that she has a good many years lefty in her. Built in 1971 she has certainly reached a respectable age.

1. Holiday Island at noon time today, ready to be floated out at 1600 hrs. Sharp eyes will detect HMCS Preserver in the background. Of similar vintage it is on the replacement list to be built by Seaspan as part of the NSPS.

Speaking of ferries the Trans St-Laurent reached her 50th anniversary this summer, without fanfare. Her owners Clarke Inc, a mere shadow of the former Clarke Shipping,  is down to just this one ship in Canadian waters (and one other, the container RoRo Shamrock in the Caribbean). With only about three years left on her charter to Société des Traversiers de Québec we should enjoy her while we can.

 2. Purpose built in 1963 for the Rivière-du-Loup to St-Siméon run, the ship is still going strong (it has never been anywhere near Halifax..)

Back to Halifax the wonderful CCGS Hudson sailed this afternoon on another scientific mission. Her days are numbered, because a replacement is part of the NSPS contract awarded to Seaspan in Vancouver. The new ship is still a few years away.

3. After a short evolution in Bedford Basin, CCGS Hudson enters the Narrows bound for sea at noon time today. Her replacement will not have the dramatic shear and graceful lines of this ship.

 Not so lucky is the laker Algoma Québecois. Built in 1963 by Canadian Vickers in Montreal as Québecois the ship sailed for original owners Eastern Lake Cariiers (Papachristidis) until 1972, then Upper Lakes Shipping until 2011 when she was acquired and renamed by Algoma. The ship was laid up at the end of the 2012 season and since June has been sitting in Toronto, where I was able to grab a quick shot of her last week.

4. Idle on the Toronto waterfront November 6 Québecois awaited her fate.

As early as tomorrow tugs will arrive to tow her to the scrappers in Port Colborne.

5. In 1995 she was still Québecois and was passing Quebec City when I took this photo. 

The ship has the sad distinction of being the second last operating cargo steamship in Canada. Her sister and fleet mate, which is not expected to sail beyond this season, Algoma Montréalais ex Montréalais is, for now the only (and will be last) steamer* in operation.  Were it not for the excellent construction of these ships and the care with which they were maintained - not to mention a great deal of time in fresh water- they would have been gone long ago. However their virtually indestructible steam turbine propulsion systems have kept them running when disels have supplanted steam almost everywhere in the world.

6. This may be last season for Algoma Montréalis and the for the last commercial steamship operation in Canada. 

Built to traditional laker design, with wheelhouse forward and maximum Seaway dimensions of the time, the sisters have outlasted several newer ships. To give another sense of their longevity, they were built with escrow credits, reserved from the sale of wartime built Victory ships. As a form of subsidy to Canadian shipyards, owners were allowed to sell the Victory ships to foreign owners, but the proceeds had to be used to finance construction of new ships in Canada. The canny shipowner owner, P.B.Papachrisitidis parlayed credits from a few war-built ships into a Great Lakes fleet, that was then sold to finance an international fleet, which is now Hellespont Shipping. He did not skimp however, these were among the finest lakers (and best looking) ever built.

[* One exception to the demise of steam, is the Toronto ferry Trillium. With steam reciprocating machinery, the 103 year old paddle wheeler is an incredible example of steam at its finest, however its operation could not be considered commercial in the same way as a a cargo ship.]

[Other exceptions include the steam tug Master in British Columbia, the excursion steamer Segwun in Muskoka, and a handful of non-operational preserved steamships such as CSS Acadia HMCS Sackville in Halifax and the passenger ships Keewatin and Norisle on the Great Lakes.]

[None of these are cargo ships, so we are truly seeing the end of an era..]

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Painting at Halifax SHipyard, M.Charles and Holiday Island

New paint is in abundance at Halifax Shipyard as workers apply coatings to both Holiday Island and M.Charles.

1. Workers on lift trucks work on the blue anti-fouling bottom paint, while the black boot topping and whiter superstructure painting has been completed. Next comes the red banner painting. What is the black object at the centre of the loading ramp - it looks like the silhouette of a whale.

 

  2. Workers take a break on completion of the Coast Guard red hull paint on M.Charles.

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Holiday Island takes a holiday

The PEI ferry Holiday Island is taking time off from its busy Caribou, NS - Wood Island, PE run for a refit at Halifax Shipyard. It arrived in Halifax October 28, and entered the Novadock floating drydock, where it has been high and dry ever since. It is now in the midst of a hull repainting.

Since built in 1971 by Port Weller Dry Dock, the boat has provided sterling service- first on the Borden-Tormentine run for Marine Atlantic and since 1997 on its current route under the management of Northumberland Ferries Ltd. It is owned by the Minister of Transport.
The ship is powered by a pair of V-16 engines built by English Electric (Ruston Engine Division), each driving a Voith-Schneider propulsor, one forward and one aft. On June 21, 2013 it was announced that the engines would be replaced, and that may be part of the current work (See the large opening in the ship's hull amidships).

The vertical blades of a Voith Schneider unit are visible when she is in drydock, mounted just aft of a vertical fin. The blades are suspended from a revolving turntable. By changing the pitch of the blades, more or less thrust can be applied in different directions. The ship thus has superior maneuverability, and can move sideways, without the need of additional bow and stern thrusters.
One of the more difficult pieces of ship's machinery to describe in words, the Voith-Schneider propeller can be seen in action on the J.M.Voith web site in a short video:
http://www.voith.com/en/products-services/power-transmission/voith-schneider-propeller-10002.html

Holiday Island

1. The provincial flag of Prince Edward Island and the house flag of Northumberland Ferries Ltd.

An announcement from Ottawa that some $13mn will  be spent on the Caribou, NS - Wood Island, PE ferry operation will upgrade terminals at both ends and will - get ready for this - re-engine the ferry Holiday Island. Such a major expenditure can only mean that the Minister of Transport expects to get many more years of service out of the veteran ferry, thus of course no replacement in the offing.
Two things will immediately come to mind, one: what are they thinking in Ottawa pumping that kind of money intro a 42 year old ship and two: since they can get more years out of the old 'Island, there will be no money put aside to replace the equally old Princess of Acadia any time soon.
Both ships were built in 1971, but Princess of Acadia has had more severe service, running year round in less friendly seas. A refit in the US refit last winter saw some big bucks put into maintenance and cosmetic upgrades, so it seems unlikely that a replacement is in the offing there either. [Keep up to date with our friend Bayferryman - link to his blog under My Faves.]

2. Trans-St-Laurent is fifty this year.

Speaking of old ferries, one that I use several times a year is Trans St-Laurent which runs between Rivière-du-Loup and St-Siméon, QC. Although I don't know if there will be any particular celebration, that ship is 50 years old this year and shows no sign of imminent replacement either.

Holiday Island is one of a pair of sisters, built by Port Weller Dry Dock in St.Catharines, ON and launched as William Pope and Thomas Haviland. Although named for two Fathers of Confederation from Prince Edward Island, someone thought that the names were a tad sober for boats that were to transport gleeful tourists to Prince Edward Island, so they were very quickly re-dubbed Holiday Island and Vacationland respectively. [Nobody seemed to sympathize with the impoverished returnees, who would be paying the bills all winter.]
Their original run was between Cape Tormentine, NB and Borden PE, and they operated seasonally, for the Minister of Transport, with the Canadian National Railroad as managers. CNR formed CN Marine and eventually spun off Marine Atlantic as an independent crown corporation to do the actual operating.
 

3. Holiday Island looked particularly good in Marine Atlantic's colour scheme. In this photo she is in her last year of operation on the Borden-Tormentine run.

When the Confederation Bridge was completed in 1997, the ships were laid up and Holiday Island transferred to the remaining PEI ferry service, operated by Northumberland Ferries Ltd. Vacationland  remained laid up in Sydney harbour despite a plan to have it run to Grand Manan Island, wherein it was renamed Fundy Paradise in 2001. Ownership was actually transferred to the New Brunswick Minister of Transport, but the ship was manifestly unsuited for that service, so was eventually sold in 2009 to Entreprise Marissa Inc of Quebec City. Their plan to use it as a dredge (it would be a giant pumping station for suction dredging) fell through when the Minster of Public Works insisted on a self-dumping hopper dredge for the work. Stuck with no work, it has languished alongside, mostly in Wolfe's Cove in Quebec City ever since.

4. Under NFL management Holiday Island reverted to its original white paint, but with a red stripe. Here she approaches the Caribou terminal with great precision. She flies the Province of Nova Scotia flag on the "Nova Scotia end" of the ship. As a double ender, her bow and stern are essentially identical.

Holiday Island however has soldiered on, still seasonally, but in fact is the primary ferry running between Caribou and Wood Islands. Fleet mate Confederation is mainly used in the busiest parts of the summer.
Holiday Island is powered by two English Electric (Ruston + Hornsby Division) main engines of 3,625 bhp each, and each geared to a Voith-Schneider "propellor" one forward and one aft. These vertical blade units, by changing pitch on the blades, provide omnidirectional control without additional bow and stern thrusters. Both units run all the time, one in forward pitch and one in reverse pitch, giving a speed of 11.5 knots.It is worth seeing the ship come into its dock - the degree of control is incredibly precise.
The old Ruston engines must be nearly clapped out by now - they aren't noted for their longevity, and knowledgeable Ruston engineers are getting thin on the ground. The new engines will be vastly more efficient and more ecologically friendly too. I haven't heard any suggestion that they will be dual fuel LNG/ diesel or diesel/electric, but just as a suggestion: why not re-power with a system that can be removed and re-used in a new ferry in five years or so? 

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