Grand Manan V off its run for the third day in a row
After three days of mechanical issues that took it off its run, the Grand Manan V is expected to be back in service Wednesday afternoon, says the director of operations for Coastal Transport.
Glenn Tremblett said the problem began on Monday with one of the ferry's engines. That was fixed on Tuesday night, but a separate issue surfaced that kept the ferry off its run into Wednesday.
As a result, the company cancelled the 11:30 a.m. crossing from Blacks Harbour and the 1:30 p.m. crossing from North Head on Wednesday.
While numbers weren't available for Tuesday, Tremblett said no one was left on the docks on either side of the crossing Monday, and he doesn't think anyone was left on Tuesday either.
He said the larger Grand Manan Adventure was able to pick up the slack in ferrying passengers back and forth.
The Grand Manan V is the smaller of the two ferries that ply the waters between Grand Manan and Blacks Harbour. It normally operates only in the summer and as a backup through the winter for the Grand Manan Adventure.
The mayor of Grand Manan isn't concerned about the GMV being out of service.
"I was up around the ferry a couple of times and it was handling what traffic wanted to go," said Dennis Greene.
"I wasn't there every trip, so I can't comment on every trip but a couple of times when I was there, they were looking after the traffic and they had room for more vehicles."
With everyone being able to reach Grand Manan, Greene said there should be little impact on the island's economy.
After all, he said, tourist numbers are down because of COVID-19-related travel restrictions, so there aren't as many passengers waiting to take the ferry.
While it doesn't make up for all of the out-of-province tourists who normally visit the island, Greene said, "We're seeing a lot of people from New Brunswick, which is great. A lot of people had it on their list ... and they're doing it this year.
"The words I hear most often is, 'You have a gem here. It's a hidden gem. We will be back.'
"Thank god for the people of New Brunswick who keep on travelling," said Greene.
