Residents and travellers to Grand Manan island are once again facing delays due to its largest ferry being taken offline for maintenance.
The Grand Manan Adventure has been sent to Newfoundland for a six-week refit.
Mayor Bonnie Morse said the refit happens every year, but when mechanical failures plagued the Grand Manan V on the holiday weekend, it created havoc for travellers and residents.
“Because there are very limited options for a backup ferry,” she said. “There just aren’t any ferries that are not in use. Finding a ferry that fits both the dock at North Head and the dock at Blacks Harbour is going to be a challenge.”
After crews from Coastal Transport Ltd. worked diligently to bring the GMV back online, Morse said it once again renewed the island’s call for a new ferry.
The Grand Manan Adventure is about 15 years old and every year returns to Newfoundland for maintenance and routine work, lasting anywhere between five to seven weeks.
Crews work on repairs, but also rust prevention and other touch-up work. The weather on the coast of Newfoundland, Morse said, can also be challenging this time of year.
Morse said residents had been home from post-secondary and the delays with the ferry created stress and a burden on families.
“It was likely very disrupted,” she said. “I know there were a lot of people who were maybe purchasing gasoline, that they might have been looking at getting a food supply.”
The island also ships lobster and seafood products frequently, meaning delays in transport can be detrimental to businesses on Grand Manan.
Morse said the time to be looking at a path on how to replace the Grand Manan V is now.
“It’s a very specific design that we’re going to need that is going to work on the run to Grand Manan,” she said.
Previous plans are more than 15 years old.
“Technology has changed in 15 years,” she said. “Our needs have changed in 15 years. The size of tractor trailers that people are using on the island now has grown because it’s bigger than the five. Now those tractors don’t fit as well.”
The Grand Manan V fits roughly 60 vehicles, while the Adventure fits 84.
Morse said the population has increased as well, meaning more people are travelling to and from the island. Residents also do not have access to a banking institution and must leave the island to do their banking.
“Really what needs to happen immediately is there needs to be funds committed for the design of what the grant, and what the replacement vessel will look like, because that is going to take some time to put that together,” she said.
She said it will take roughly eight to 10 years before a new ferry would be constructed and ready for use by island residents.
“We’re not looking at a quick turnaround for this, which is why we need to start now, why we should have started years ago,” she said. “Now, we’re asking a 36-year-old vessel to operate 20 hours per day, five days a week.”
The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure said in a statement that replacing the Grand Manan V would “represent a significant capital investment and would need to be carefully considered alongside other infrastructure priorities across the province.”
“The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure is actively working with industry partners to assess potential vessel solutions that could be deployed in the event of an extended service interruption during the Grand Manan Adventure’s approximately six-week refit period,” the statement said. “Any option must be carefully reviewed to ensure it can operate safely and effectively within the route’s operational and infrastructure constraints.”
The Courier did ask if the department would release the Grand Manan V’s latest condition assessments and the timeline for the path for replacing the vessel, but the statement did not address those questions.
“At the same time, Coastal Transport continues to work diligently to maintain the Grand Manan V and ensure it remains safe and available to serve the island while the Adventure is away,” the statement said. “We recognize the importance of dependable ferry service to Grand Manan residents and businesses and remain focused on maintaining safe and reliable operations while the Adventure completes its required refit.”
Morse thanked the Coastal Transport employees who worked diligently on the Thanksgiving weekend to bring the Grand Manan V into operation.
“They were troopers about trying to get us up and running and it didn’t go unnoticed or unappreciated,” she said.
