Northumberland Ferries Limited

Last updated

Northumberland Ferries Limited
IndustryShipping
Founded1941
Headquarters
Charlottetown
,
Prince Edward Island
Area served
 Northumberland Strait
Key people
Mark MacDonald, President & CEO
ServicesPassenger transportation
Freight transportation
Parent NFL Holdings Ltd
Website www.ferries.ca

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 (which used to include the Bay Ferries Great Lakes brand) through its holding company.

Contents

Wood Islands–Caribou Ferry

NFL has operated the ferry service that carries the Trans-Canada Highway across the eastern part of the Northumberland Strait between Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island and Caribou, Nova Scotia since it was established in 1941 by the Government of Canada. This service is seasonal and only operates between the months of May and December on account of heavy sea ice and the lack of icebreaking ferries. NFL also operates the ferry terminals in Wood Islands and Caribou, both of which are owned by the Government of Canada.

Until 2022, NFL operated two vessels owned by the Government of Canada: MV Confederation , built in 1993, and MV Holiday Island , built in 1971. On July 22, 2022, Holiday Island suffered a fire, causing ferry crossings to be cancelled. [1] The MV Saaremaa 1 was loaned by the Société des traversiers du Québec as a temporary replacement, and began operations on August 20, 2022. [2] While Confederation has been operated exclusively by NFL since she was built, Holiday Island joined NFL in 1997 after being declared surplus by previous operator Marine Atlantic (who operated the vessel between Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick and Borden-Carleton, Prince Edward Island) upon completion of the Confederation Bridge. Following the 2022 fire, Holiday Island was declared by Transport Canada to be beyond repair and would be scrapped. [3] The Federal Government purchased the Norwegian ferry MV Fanafjord in 2023, and in 2028 a brand new ferry is expected to be delivered. [4]

Fares are paid only when exiting Prince Edward Island. The other major crossing of the Northumberland Strait, the Confederation Bridge from Prince Edward Island to New Brunswick, does likewise. Therefore, travellers entering the island on the ferry and exiting on the bridge or vice versa only need pay for one of the links.

The route has long been subsidized by Transport Canada; [5] under the Ferry Services Contribution Program, the subsidy was most recently extended to 2027. [6]

2022-09-10 01 MV CONFEDERATION - IMO 9050008 at Caribou, NS Canada.jpg
MV Confederation has been operated by NFL on the Northumberland Strait between Caribou and Wood Islands since 1993.
2021-08-21 03 MV HOLIDAY ISLAND - IMO 7041431, leaving Wood Islands terminal, PEI CAN.jpg
MV Holiday Island in the Northumberland Strait after leaving Wood Islands terminal.
2022-09-10 MV SAAREMAA I - IMO 9474072.jpg
MV Saaremaa 1 preparing to leave the Northumberland Ferries terminal at Caribou, Nova Scotia.

Terminals

Caribou

Northumberland Ferries terminal at Caribou, Nova Scotia, Canada 2022-09-10 Ferry Terminal at Caribou, NS Canada.jpg
Northumberland Ferries terminal at Caribou, Nova Scotia, Canada

This terminal serves Nova Scotia, and is located at the North end of Highway 106, a spur route of the Trans-Canada Highway. The terminal was constructed following the formation of Northumberland Ferries in 1941, and has received numerous upgrades since its construction. At the time of opening, the ferry was only accessible via Three Brooks Road. During the Canada-wide construction of the Trans-Canada Highway in the 1960s, Highway 106 was built providing the service with direct access to the national highway network. At this time, the terminal was expanded to handle more vehicle traffic due to the opening of the highway. A new terminal building was constructed in the early 1970s, and is still used today. The terminal also received a major upgrade including new docking infrastructure, terminal renovations, vehicle lanes and parking prior to the 1993 introduction of the high capacity MV Confederation, which is significantly larger than the other ferries running at the time.

Wood Islands

Northumberland Ferries terminal at Wood Islands PEI Canada 2021-08-21 01a Ferry terminal at Wood Islands PEI Canada.jpg
Northumberland Ferries terminal at Wood Islands PEI Canada

This terminal serves Prince Edward Island, and is located at the east end of Route 1, the Trans Canada Highway, and is adjacent to Wood Islands Provincial Park. Like the Caribou terminal, it was constructed following the formation of Northumberland ferries in 1941. During the early 1990s, the terminal received a major upgrade, including a completely new terminal building and docking infrastructure to accommodate MV Confederation. The terminal building received renovations in 2017 which saw the interior modernized, and includes televisions and new seating areas. The previous terminal still stands today, located on the opposite side of the vehicle lanes from the current terminal, and is used for storage.

Historical fleet

NameDatesHistory
MV Prince Nova1941–1958Formerly MV Erie Isle when she operated on Lake Erie from Leamington, Ontario to Pelee Island. She was purchased by NFL and entered service in 1941, serving until 1958 with arrival of MV Lord Selkirk. Laid up in Pictou, where she caught fire and burnt at wharf later that year. Scrapped on site.
SS Charles A. Dunning1941, 1946–1964Formerly SS Sankaty when she operated in Massachusetts and Maine. She was purchased by NFL but before entering service was requisitioned for service in the Royal Canadian Navy for minelaying duty as HMCS Sankaty. Returned to NFL in 1946, serving until 1964 with arrival of MV Prince Nova. Sold for scrap but sank en route to Sydney.
MV Lord Selkirk1958–1993Built for Government of Canada by Ferguson Industries, Pictou in 1958, serving until 1993 with arrival of MV Confederation. Sold to company in Panama. Used in Chiriquí Grande in Panama until the road was built. Lying at anchor at Chiriquí Grande in poor condition (July 2014).
MV Confederation1975–1993Built for Government of Canada by Halifax Shipyards, Halifax in 1962 when she was operated by CN from Borden, Prince Edward Island to Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick. Still owned by Government of Canada, she was transferred in 1975 to NFL from CN, serving until 1993 with arrival of MV Confederation. Sold in 1994 to shipping line Groupe Desgagnés, Quebec, refitted and renamed Nordik Passeur for service from Rivière-au-Renard, Quebec to Havre St. Pierre, Quebec via Anticosti Island. Mothballed in 1997, she was scrapped in Turkey in 2007.
MV Prince Nova1963–1997Built for Government of Canada by Ferguson Industries, Pictou in 1963, serving until 1997 with arrival of MV Holiday Island. Sold to Cross Sound Ferry, New London in 1998, refitted and renamed the MV Susan Anne for service across Long Island Sound. Currently operating.
MV Prince Edward1972–1997Built for the Government of Canada by Ferguson Industries, Pictou in 1972, serving until 1997 with arrival of MV Holiday Island. Sold to Government of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1997, refitted and renamed the MV Capt. Earl W. Winsor for service to Fogo Island and the Change Islands. Currently not operating and laid up in St. John's.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pictou County</span> County in Nova Scotia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Northumberland Strait</span> Strait between Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia

The Northumberland Strait is a strait in the southern part of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence in eastern Canada. The strait is formed by Prince Edward Island and the gulf's eastern, southern, and western shores.

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Marine Atlantic</span> Independent Canadian federal Crown corporation operating ferries

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bay Ferries</span> Canadian ferry 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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Channel-Port aux Basques</span> Town in Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick</span> Village in New Brunswick, Canada

Cape Tormentine is a rural community and former local service district in southeastern New Brunswick, Canada. It is located on the Northumberland Strait at the Abegweit Passage, the shortest crossing between Prince Edward Island and the mainland. It once flourished as a transportation hub between New Brunswick and Prince Edward Island but has been in decline since 1997 when the ferry service was closed due to the opening of the Confederation Bridge. At the Canada 2011 Census the population was 108, three quarters what it was at the 2006 census.

Route 16 is a two-lane highway in the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The 52 km (32 mi) route begins at Route 2 in Tantramar and ends at the midpoint of the Confederation Bridge, where it becomes Prince Edward Island Route 1.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nova Scotia Highway 106</span> Highway in Nova Scotia

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Borden-Carleton</span> Town in Prince Edward Island, Canada

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MV Vacationland</span> Ferry

The MV Vacationland is a Canadian RORO ferry that operated across the Northumberland Strait between the ports of Cape Tormentine, New Brunswick and Port Borden, Prince Edward Island.

MV <i>Holiday Island</i> Ferry

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. After suffering a serious fire, the ship was broken up for scrap in 2023

Belfast is a rural municipality in Prince Edward Island, Canada. It is located in southeastern Queens County in the townships of Lot 57 and Lot 58.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island</span>

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hillsborough River Bridge</span> Bridge in Prince Edward Island, Canada

The Hillsborough River Bridge is a bridge crossing the Hillsborough River estuary between Charlottetown and Stratford in Queens County, Prince Edward Island. The current road bridge, built in 1962, replaced a 1905 rail bridge crossing the same span which was known by the same name.

MV <i>Abegweit</i> (1982) Former Marine Atlantic ferry

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">MV Confederation</span>

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.

References

  1. ↑ Ross, Shane; Edwards, Danielle (July 22, 2022). "P.E.I.-N.S. ferry cancelled for a 2nd day after fire aboard ship forced evacuation Friday". CBC News . Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  2. ↑ Carolyn, Ryan (August 20, 2022). "Saaremaa carries its 1st paying passengers from Nova Scotia to P.E.I." CBC News . Retrieved January 5, 2023.
  3. ↑ Gallant, Isabelle (October 14, 2022). "MV Holiday Island to be scrapped due to major fire damage". CBC News . Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  4. ↑ CBC News. Feds sign $38.6M contract to buy MV Fanafjord for N.S.-P.E.I. ferry route. Retrieved 18 February 2024
  5. ↑ "P.E.I. ferry funding partially restored". CBC News. March 22, 2005. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  6. ↑ "Government of Canada announces a five-year extension of the Ferry Services Contribution Program in Eastern Canada". Transport Canada (Press release). Government of Canada. August 13, 2021. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.