The MV Confederation is sitting still alongside Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island, and is set to be out of commission for weeks.
That’s bad news for tourism operators like Treena MacLeod of Treena’s Takeout. She said half of her business comes from ferry passengers.
“I have five staff who are depending on income,” MacLeod said. “I don’t want to lay anyone off or shorten my hours, so we’re going to stay open.”
She’s offering a buy one get one half off daily deal until the ferry service is restored in hopes of getting more customers to visit.
The ferry is a major driver of tourism in eastern P.E.I. By current estimates, there won’t be a ferry link between the Island and Nova Scotia until after both Canada Day and the Cavendish Beach Music Festival.
“It’s huge, I mean, we’ve just come out of COVID. We’ve come out of Fiona,” said Lori MacGregor, Executive Director for Island East Tourism Group. “Now this other punch in the gut, so it’s really disheartening.”
Northumberland Ferries said its MV Confederation’s propulsion system cannot be repaired. The required part must be manufactured, which will take at least three to four weeks, the ferry operator said in a statement.
“We are working closely with the manufacturer and doing all we can to fast track the delivery of the part so that we can safely resume this important service as soon as possible.”
There is a second vessel planned to join the route early next month, the MV Saaremaa 1, however, it’s currently sitting in a dry dock in Quebec.
The Member of Parliament for the area, Lawrence MacAulay, said he’s spoken to the Minister of Transport to find a way to get the ferry service up and running sooner, but there are no details available.
The Wood Islands ferry isn’t be accepting reservations until after July 10, at the earliest.
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