New NFL ferry build years behind

Local Journalism Initiative
·6 min read

Transport Canada continues to promise the PEI to NS ferry replacement, set to be built by Davie shipyard in Quebec will be ready by 2028. But the company hasn’t completed design work and government can’t provide a construction start date or an estimate of total construction costs.

This means design for two similar vessels (one to service eastern PEI and the other to run the Souris, PEI to the Magdalen Islands, QC route) is more than three years behind the initial timeline proposed by Public Services and Procurement Canada.

Cardigan MP Lawrence MacAulay, for whom the Wood Islands ferry has been the defining issue in his 36-year political career, declined comment.

The slow procurement process adds to Belfast-Murray River MLA Darlene Compton’s concerns about the future of the service.

“A huge announcement was made at the Belfast rink by Lawrence MacAulay a number of years ago about how we’re getting a new ferry, and we’re no closer now than we were then,” she said about the importance of a reliable service to the area and to the Island as a whole.

The cost of early design work has also ballooned from $1 million estimated when the contract was awarded to Chantier Davie Canada Inc in November 2019 to $22.9 million today.

“It’s the law of diminishing returns; the less security and reliability we have, the fewer people are going to use it,” Ms Compton said.

She would like to see two new or newer, green vessels serving the route as soon as possible.

She is in support of building vessels in Canada, “but that’s not happening,” she said.

“It’s a long way off and the cost will be extraordinary,” she noted about the vessel under design by Davie. “If we keep procrastinating it’s just another nail in the coffin for the ferry service.”

Jay D’Ilio is the owner of the Cliffside Inn in Little Sands, less than 10 kilometres from the Wood Islands ferry terminal. He said his bookings are down and he suspects mainly because tourists don’t want to risk having to drive to the west end to take the Confederation Bridge if the ferry is delayed or cancelled.

“We need two ferries running regularly,” he said.

Even if the promised purchase of the Norwegian MV Fanafjord goes through and successfully replaces the decommissioned MV Holiday Island this season, as promised by the feds, replacing the MV Confederation should not be delayed, Mr D’Ilio said.

The 31-year-old Confederation has experienced mechanical issues in past years which have delayed crossings and caused a weeks-long service cancellation during peak tourism season, last year.

“The federal government needs to step up,” he said.

Lori MacGregor, executive director of Points East Coastal Drive, said operators generally seem optimistic that services will be steady this year given government’s plan to charter the MV Saaremaa until the MV Fanafjord is ready for use later in the season.

However, long-term she also sees a need to move work along to replace the MV Confederation.

“It’s definitely been frustrating,” she said about the delays related to the ship which was initially slated for completion by November 2024.

A lack of communication and transparency about how the project has been moving along has added to the frustration and uncertainty.

When the service is disrupted, Ms MacGregor said, it affects operators in close proximity to the terminal as well as those across the entire east end of the Island.

Julie Chaisson is co-owner of the Fiddling Fisherman in Souris.

“Absolutely it’s important,” she said about maintaining a reliable service.

One cohort of customers tends to be day trippers from Nova Scotia who cross over and back on the morning and evening runs. These customers enjoy the ferry experience that sandwiches their time in Souris, at the beaches farther east as well as at all the other stops they make along the way.

“If the ferry is out or unreliable, we lose that group of customers,” Ms Chaisson said.

Multiple requests for an interview with Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) and Transport Canada (TC) to better explain the causes of the drawn-out timeline and to provide a more detailed account of what design work the $22.9 million has covered - were denied.

However, according to an email statement from PSPC, the initial $1 million was for the shipyard to set up a project management office.

“Since then, there have been 10 subsequent contract amendments that have included additional tasks, including undertaking of complex engineering studies, and advancing the early design work, which have increased the contract value to $22 million,” according to the email.

Another PSPC statement noted the selection of suppliers and equipment for some major components of the vessel, such as the main power and propulsion systems, have been completed.

“The selection of these critical major machinery components is a key milestone,” the email said.

However, the department did not confirm by press time if the propulsion system will be diesel or a greener alternative.

Moving forward, government is committed to continuing work with Davie Shipyard to complete construction of the two ferries and, in March, welcomed the company into the National Shipbuilding Strategy.

As a part of the strategy, the government has awarded Davie a new contract to design icebreakers for the Canadian Coast Guard at an estimated $19 million. Design work for six icebreakers is expected to cost $3 million less than designing the two ferries.

UPDATE: Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC) has confirmed the propulsion system of the new ferry will be a diesel-electric hybrid.

The vessel is expected to generate significantly fewer greenhouse gas emissions and air pollutants and produce less underwater noise, said a statement by PSPC.

The vessel is also being designed to allow for future enhancements to the energy storage systems as battery technology advances.

The ancillary contract awarded to Chantier Davie Canada Inc for the Transport Canada ferries is a task-based contract, which is expected to increase as new tasks are added to the contract, according to PSPC.

As reported May 1, the initial $1 million contract awarded in November 2019 was to set up the project management office. Since then, there have been 10 subsequent contract amendments that have included additional tasks, including the undertaking of complex engineering studies, and advancing the early design work, which have increased the contract value to $22 million.

CORRECTION: This article has been updated to reflect the correct name for Public Services and Procurement Canada (PSPC).

Rachel Collier, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, The Eastern Graphic

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