Ferry in Tsiigehtchic, N.W.T., reopens after 5-day closure
The N.W.T. department of Infrastructure says the MV Louis Cardinal ferry outside of Tsiigehtchic is back on the water as of Tuesday afternoon.
It, along with the Peel River ferry, will stay open longer than usual to get as much traffic moving as possible, the department said in an update Tuesday.
The MV Louis Cardinal, which crosses the Mackenzie River at the Dempster Highway, had been out of commission since Thursday afternoon.
The Infrastructure department posted on its Facebook page that the issue was mechanical and essential to the operation of the ferry.
The government had said that the cause was due to the fire suppression system on the ferry needing maintenance. It has not been confirmed yet if there was a fault or what the nature of the repairs were.
On Tuesday morning, Infrastructure said in a Facebook post that it had found the needed parts to complete the repairs. Once the work was done, the ferry had to pass an inspection by Transport Canada to begin operating again.
The MV Louis Cardinal Ferry in Tsiigehtchic, N.W.T., in 2018. (Lennard Plantz/CBC)
The ferry's closure left some tourists stranded and waiting to continue their trips south.
One tourist from Finland told CBC News on Friday that he was supposed to be hiking in the Yukon on Monday but he expected the ferry closure would cancel that outing.
Other tourists were less worried on Friday, resting in campers on the back of pickup trucks while they waited.
Matt Best and Amber Balmforth from the U.K. said their trip was a long time planned, but an extra few days' delay wouldn't affect them much as they did not have a schedule going back. The couple got engaged while in Tuktoyaktuk and were celebrating on the way back. Best said they would head back to Inuvik if the delay was longer than a few days.
"It's quite fun for now, but two or three days in, it probably won't be as much fun, you know," said Best.
