N.S.-P.E.I. ferry resumes service after being out of commission for 2 weeks
CBC
The ferry running between P.E.I. and Nova Scotia has resumed weeks earlier than expected.
The first departure was at 7 a.m. Saturday from Wood Islands, P.E.I.
The service shut down June 17 after MV Confederation experienced a mechanical problem that required a new part.
It was believed the vessel wouldn't be ready to resume service until mid-July because the part wasn't stocked anywhere in the world and had to be built from scratch. The replacement was manufactured in Germany and shipped to Canada.
Shortly after the disruption was announced, an official with Northumberland Ferries told CBC that the part was like the vanilla-cream layer in an Oreo cookie, with the ship's main engine representing one chocolate wafer and the equipment powering the propellers being the other side of the cookie.
In a statement issued Friday, Northumberland Ferries said it "did everything possible to speed up the manufacturing and delivery of the new part and have been able to expedite delivery with great co-operation from the supplier and all supporting agencies."
As of Friday, MV Confederation had been off its run for nearly two weeks, leaving no vehicle or passenger ferry service between eastern P.E.I. and the mainland at the start of the busy summer tourism season.
That had many local business owners who rely on traffic from tourists taking the ferry worried about the potential impacts of a service disruption that could last for weeks.
"Tourists like the Island experience in taking the boat to or from the Island," said Gloria Shaw, manager of the Wood Islands Lighthouse Museum.
"It was a great disappointment to a lot of people when it shut down — and it very much shut down the traffic in this area."
Shaw said Canada Day is normally a slow day at the museum due to events happening in Charlottetown and elsewhere on the Island, but that Saturday was busier than what she was expecting.
"We're just very glad to see the ferry crossing today. It was a sight to behold," she said.
Not only tourists but Island residents, truckers and other business travellers were left with only two options — take the Confederation Bridge linking Borden-Carleton, P.E.I., to New Brunswick, or fly.
Alex Larkin, who's from New Glasgow, said he found out the ferry was resuming service around midnight. He said it didn't take him too long to decide to buy a ticket.
After walking a few laps around the shop, Maria Castagna picks up a glass ornament in the form of a pink, sparkly ice cream cone and smiles widely.
Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham says he has much unfinished work from his first term in office, as he prepares to make his pitch to voters ahead of the 2026 election.
Moving to Canada from Singapore meant losing close social connections for Iris Akbar, but Akbar says the gift was in finding an affirming space with friends that became like family.
Women and children staying at Regina Transition House now have access to Santa’s workshop — a safe space where mothers can choose Christmas gifts for their children.
A man from Powell River, B.C., is thankful to be alive after a stranger helped him while he was choking at a restaurant during a visit to Whistler.
When it comes to Hamilton readers' favourite library books of 2025, romance and mysteries are in close competition.
From the Detroit Lions losing to Apple iPhones that spontaneously update, Windsorites had things that bugged them this year.
Calgary emergency rooms are “in a state of critical overcapacity” ahead of the anticipated peak of flu season — and to cope with the surge and wait-room crowding, officials are urging doctors to speed up their decisions on whether to admit patients, according to a memo obtained by CBC News.
Northern Ontario's highway system needs improvements in order to make travel safer, a highway safety advocate said.
Hundreds of thousands of used tires are piling up across Ontario as some companies responsible for tire recycling have stopped processing tires amid reduced provincial recycling regulations for tire producers, industry experts say.
People in Guelph facing homelessness will soon have a new place to go during the day.
Islanders are reminded to plan their rides ahead of holiday festivities if they plan on drinking alcohol or using cannabis.
Even before Gwen Healey Akearok began her new role as Nunavut’s Minister of Family Services, she was tuning into the Office of the Auditor General’s (OAG) hearings on the state of the Family Services department.