Atlantic ferries bogged down by ice delay truckers

DIEPPE, NB- Ice has slowed the progress of Marine Atlantic ferries travelling on daily runs between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland. And Atlantic truckers are paying the price of the delays, according to the Atlantic Provinces Trucking Association (APTA).

“Marine Atlantic needs better service to break the ice to maintain their service to the commercial carriers and to Newfoundlanders,”said APTA executive director Jean‐Marc Picard. “The delays are accumulating because the federal government is not providing adequate ice breaking service to Marine Atlantic.

On February 23, the ferry service shut down due to extreme weather conditions, but service resumed the next day. The Leif Ericson – a dedicated commercial ferry travelling the North Sydney – Port aux Basques route- left at 10 a.m. the following day, packed with commercial trucks.

Marine Atlantic officials have said they need help from some heavy icebreakers to keep ferries moving. Their own icebreakers are not adequate for the current conditions. As a result, some routes are taking twice as long because ferries keep getting stuck in the ice.

“They currently have the Edward Cornwallis to break the ice but it’s not nearly adequate enough to make a difference in today’s conditions. The other three vessels are in the Quebec region but we desperately need one of those three to assist Marine Atlantic,” Picard said.

“The situation will get worse if it’s not addressed; the trucking industry heavily relies on a four vessel service to and from Newfoundland & Labrador, at this time only two vesselsare operating, which is creating delays and backlogs of traffic. The situation will obviously get worse. It is crucial to the people of Newfoundland & Labrador that this gets addressed immediately by the Government.”


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