MV Confederation is a double-ended RORO ferry which operates on a seasonal basis between Caribou, Nova Scotia and Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island from May to December. It is operated by Northumberland Ferries Limited (NFL). Built by Pictou Industries Limited for NFL and launched in Pictou, NS in 1993 Confederation has a total length of 114.2 metres, beam of 18.77m, a draft of 4.439m and a gross tonnage of 8,060. Her passenger capacity is 600 with a vehicle capacity of 220. [1]
As early as 1985, increased tourist traffic prompted talks of introducing a strategy to address capacity issues, as the facilities at Caribou and Wood Islands were operating well beyond capacity with vehicle lineups sometimes stretching several kilometers on either side of the route. [2] By November of 1991, a contract was signed between the federal government and Pictou Industries to locally construct a new high-capacity ferry specifically designed for the route, with the anticipation of a second identical vessel eventually entering service. Both Caribou and Wood Islands terminals received major upgrades to accommodate the proposed vessels almost immediately in order to be completed by the maiden voyage of the new ferry. [3]
Construction of what would become known as the Confederation began in February, 1992 with a scheduled completion of July of 1993. [4] Based on a Norwegian concept, [5] the ferry was to be double-ended due to the inability of a vessel of its size to turn around in both harbours, and she was to have an ice-strengthened bow. By the 1993 tourist season, it became clear that the vessel would not be completed on schedule due to technical issues with safety equipment and issues with docking infrastructure. MV Confederation was officially completed on October 28, 1993 at a price tag of $45 Million CAD and nearly 4 months behind schedule. [6]
MV Confederation officially entered service on November 1, 1993, [6] replacing 2 smaller ferries, the previous MV Confederation (1962) and MV Lord Selkirk (1958). In light of the announcement of the fixed link to Prince Edward Island around the same time of her introduction, plans to construct a sister ship were no longer considered viable due to a predicted reduction of traffic in the following years, [7] leaving Confederation as a completely unique vessel.
In 2015, the original logos of Northumberland Ferries were removed from her hull and replaced with a redesigned logo, as well as the stripes running the length of her being repainted blue from their original red appearance.
In 2016, the other vessel on the route, MV Holiday Island was out of service for an extended length of time undergoing major repairs and overhaul leaving the Confederation alone on the ferry route for the prime summer months. Despite additional crossings scheduled for the vessel, [8] local residents, the hospitality industry as a whole and commercial truckers protested as business suffered due to the reduction in service. [9] [10] Confederation was also out of service from 29 September to 2 October that year due to an electrical problem. [11]
Pictou County is a county in the province of Nova Scotia, Canada. It was established in 1835, and was formerly a part of Halifax County from 1759 to 1835. It had a population of 43,657 people in 2021, a decline of 0.2 percent from 2016. Furthermore, its 2016 population is only 88.11% of the census population in 1991. It is the sixth most populous county in Nova Scotia.
The Confederation Bridge is a box girder bridge carrying the Trans-Canada Highway across the Abegweit Passage of the Northumberland Strait, linking the province of Prince Edward Island with the mainland province of New Brunswick. Opened May 31, 1997, the 12.9-kilometre (8.0 mi) bridge is Canada's longest bridge and the world's longest bridge over ice-covered water.
Pictou is a town in Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. Located on the north shore of Pictou Harbour, the town is approximately 10 km north of the larger town of New Glasgow.
Marine Atlantic Inc. is an independent Canadian federal Crown corporation which is mandated to operate ferry services between the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.
A Northumberland Strait iceboat is a rowing boat, typically 5 metres in length, 2 metres in beam, with runners fastened to the hull for dragging over sea ice.
Northumberland Ferries Limited (NFL) is a ferry company operating in eastern Canada and headquartered in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. NFL is also the owner of subsidiary Bay Ferries Limited through its holding company.
Bay Ferries Limited, or simply, Bay Ferries, is a ferry company operating in eastern Canada and is headquartered in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is a subsidiary of Northumberland Ferries Limited and a sister company to the defunct Bay Ferries Great Lakes Limited.
Channel-Port aux Basques is a town at the extreme southwestern tip of Newfoundland fronting on the western end of the Cabot Strait. A Marine Atlantic ferry terminal is located in the town which is the primary entry point onto the island of Newfoundland and the western terminus of the Newfoundland and Labrador Route 1 in the province. The town was incorporated in 1945 and its population in the 2021 census was 3,547.
MV Abegweit was an icebreaking railway, vehicle, and passenger ferry which operated across the Abegweit Passage of Northumberland Strait, connecting Port Borden to Cape Tormentine between 1947 and 1982.
Highway 106 is a 19 km (12 mi) 2-lane limited-access highway located within Pictou County, in the Canadian province of Nova Scotia. The provincial government named the highway the Jubilee Highway on December 21, 2012 in honour of Queen Elizabeth II's Diamond Jubilee.
Borden-Carleton is a town in Prince County in the Canadian province of Prince Edward Island. It is situated on the south shore fronting on the Northumberland Strait. The town was originally incorporated as a community on April 12, 1995, through the amalgamation of the town of Borden and the community of Carleton. The town of Borden opted to demote its status to a community in light of a declining tax base with the pending completion of the Confederation Bridge and the closure of the Marine Atlantic ferry service. Borden-Carleton became a town on July 31, 2012.
Route 1 is a 120-kilometre (75 mi) long provincial highway that serves as the Prince Edward Island section of the Trans-Canada Highway. Route 1 traverses the southern shores of Prince Edward Island, from the Confederation Bridge in Borden-Carleton to the Wood Islands ferry dock, and bypasses the provincial capital, Charlottetown. It is an uncontrolled access 2-lane highway with a maximum speed limit of 90 km/h (55 mph), except within towns and urban areas.
MV Holiday Island was a Canadian RORO ferry that operated across the Northumberland Strait between the ports of Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island and Caribou, Nova Scotia. The vessel was owned by the Government of Canada and was managed and operated by Northumberland Ferries Limited.
Wood Islands is a rural farming and fishing community located in southeastern Queens County, Prince Edward Island on the Northumberland Strait. It takes its name from several small forested islands, then located several hundred metres offshore in the Northumberland Strait. The community of Wood Islands falls within the larger PEI Township of Lot 62, which had a population in 2011 of 470 residents, a 13% decrease from the 2006 census count of 540. While the named islands are located on maps by Jacques-Nicolas Bellin: Karte Bellin, 1744: 'I a Bova' and Louis Franquet: Cartes Franquet, 1751: 'Isle a Bois', it was Samuel Johannes Holland who correctly surveyed and depicted the islands, about their basin. The 'European' settlement of Wood Islands began in 1803, but saw its most noted arrivals in 1807 with the arrival, after wintering in Pinette, of a large party of Scottish settlers from the Spencer.
Caribou is a small rural community in Pictou County, Nova Scotia, Canada.
MV Princess of Acadia was a roll-on/roll-off passenger and motor vehicle ferry that traveled between Digby, Nova Scotia and Saint John, New Brunswick, crossing the Bay of Fundy. The vessel held 650 passengers and could transport 180 automobile equivalents. On July 28, 2015 the ship was replaced by MV Fundy Rose.
MV Abegweit were icebreaking railway, vehicle, and passenger ferries which operated across the Abegweit Passage of Northumberland Strait, connecting Borden-Carleton, Prince Edward Island to Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick. There were two vessels named Abegweit that serviced this route between 1947 and 1997.
Pictou Harbour is a natural harbour in Nova Scotia on the Northumberland Strait.