Why didn't MV Holiday Island sail in 2016, and could that have been avoided?
CBC
Transport Canada Marine Safety and Security documents that CBC News waited more than five years to receive, after filing a federal access to information request, say the corrosion that led to the suspension of MV Holiday Island in 2016 should have been found earlier.
Repairs to extensive corrosion in the ballast tanks in 2016 meant the ship wasn't available until October of that season.
Instead, the Wood Islands, P.E.I., to Caribou, Nova Scotia, route was covered by one ferry, leading to a 15 per cent drop in traffic according to the ferry company, Northumberland Ferries. MV Confederation was making only six runs a day versus the company's usual nine when both ships were operational.
And on days when MV Confederation suffered mechanical issues that season, there was no ferry service at all.
The water in ballast tanks helps keep a vessel level — something that's particularly important when loading a passenger ferry, said John Dalziel. The adjunct professor at Dalhousie University worked more than 50 years in the marine industry in ship construction and repair supervision, and as a safety inspector for Transport Canada Marine Safety and Security.
"You may have a big truck on one side and a motorcycle on the other, so it's going to lean over," he explained. "So you want to keep this under control."
MV Holiday Island has been under Transport Canada's delegated inspection program since 2007. The vessel is owned by the federal government, in the person of whoever holds the job of transport minister. Northumberland Ferries is contracted to lease and operate the ship, and Lloyd's Register is contracted to do inspections on behalf of Transport Canada.
Corrosion of the ballast tanks was raised as a concern by Lloyd's Register inspectors in 2007 because the coating on the tanks was poor and these tanks are filled with saltwater, which is corrosive. Transport Canada officials say inspectors from Lloyd's, an engineering and technical services company based in the United Kingdom, said there would be annual inspections of the tanks to keep an eye on their condition.
Given the age of MV Holiday Island, Dalziel said this corrosion needed to be tracked closely.
"That was a very old ship. Most ships last 30 years," said Dalziel. 'It was 45 years — way past its normal life. And so you should look at that very carefully."
The documents CBC News received through a federal access to Information request point to a Lloyd's inspection report from May 2015 that says all the tanks were inspected and their structural condition was good.
However, Transport Canada officials say, "it would appear reasonable to expect that some of the deficiencies noted where perforation and excessive corrosion is present and requires immediate repair ought to have been observable previous to May 2016 based on previous inspection."
Ultrasonic thickness measurements of the steel tanks revealed extensive corrosion during an inspection in Les Méchins, Quebec in June 2016. Officials said that kind of measurement exercise would have been warranted in 2012, but wasn't done.
Dalziel said excessive corrosion like that seen on MV Holiday Island in 2016 doesn't happen overnight.
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is getting rid of unlimited mental health benefits for staff, blaming ballooning costs and former administrators for implementing it without proper due diligence or oversight.
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion US, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood's most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer that has upended the media industry.
CBC Calgary kicks off its annual Make the Season Kind campaign this morning at Fratello Coffee Roasters.
CBC Newfoundland and Labrador is kicking off its annual holiday campaign, helping to raise money to support local food banks.
If all goes according to plan, at 6 a.m. AT on Saturday people working at the IWK Health Centre will become the test case for a generational change to Nova Scotia’s health-care system.
One month after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced what he called "generational" military spending, New Brunswick’s defence ecosystem is on high alert.
Miranda Mirlycourtois, 34, looks directly at the camera and makes a confession.
Saskatoon city hall says police spending is projected to be $2.6 million over budget this year. That pushes the city into a $1.2-million deficit position, according to a report that will be considered by city council next week.
Students at the University of Regina are days away from deciding whether a newly formed student association should become their official representative body.
All public schools on P.E.I. are closed Friday and thousands of Maritime Electric customers are without power as strong winds create hazardous travel conditions across the province.
Prince Rupert, B.C., residents are celebrating the holidays this year with coastal flair.
In the four years Chelsey Simmonds has worked at the Eva Rothwell Centre, she has seen the need increase every year at the centre’s community food pantry.
CBC is once again looking to make the holiday season kind in Windsor-Essex.