One of the first passengers to leave as the Quebec ferry began bringing vehicles into the Northumberland Strait, Beaman gave it a five-star rating for comfort. Arrived in Caribou, NS expecting to sail on MV Confederation but took the opportunity to try out the new boat. “The trip was great,” Beaman said. “I’m a little emotional because it was such a smooth ride. There were no bumps. And the boat is so quiet. And the plush seats and everything!” He said the canteen was a bit small and only had hot dogs and sausages to choose from for hot dishes, but added there was “a great dining area, with lots of tables”. Beaman wonders if the boat will be a little rocky in windier weather because it seems taller than other ferries she’s been on, but overall she gave the Saaremaa a five out of five rating. She said the comfort level of the new vessel reminded her of the old MV Abegweit, adding: “I was so excited to be on her the first time.” Beverely Beaman was one of two foot passengers who traveled to PEI on Saaremaa Saturday. He arrived at Caribou expecting to be on the MV Confederation, but jumped at the chance to try out the new boat. (Carolyn Ryan/CBC) Late on Friday, Northumberland Ferries Ltd. announced that Saaremaa will receive a soft launch this weekend before being added to the company’s official schedule on Monday. At least for the remainder of this tourist season, it will replace the MV Holiday Island, which was damaged in a fire on July 22. “As of Monday, we posted three round trips starting at 10 a.m. in Nova Scotia,” said Donald Cormier, vice president of Northumberland Ferries Ltd. “Obviously it will supplement Confederation’s four round-trips, resulting in seven daily round-trips, which is a good capacity for this time of year.” Cormier said there were positives and negatives to adding a much newer vessel to the Northumberland Strait service. The 100m long Saaremaa is only 12 years old, having been built in Norway for an Estonian shipping company in 2010. Donald Cormier, the vice president of Northumberland Ferries Ltd., was on hand Saturday to see the ferry’s replacement dock at Wood Islands, PEI, with paying passengers for the first time. (Carolyn Ryan/CBC) “The holiday island nostalgia that has served the island well for more than 50 years will be lost, so Saaremaa will be a different experience,” he said. “But like anything else, there’s going to be some positives and some that people will miss – you know, the retro look of the holiday island, the kind of deli that we used to have on board.” Cormier said it’s nice to have two ships back in service during peak tourist season. “It supports local economies, creates jobs for the region and is an essential means of transportation to and from Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia.” It took a few more days than expected to train existing Northumberland Ferries crews who will work on the new ship, Cormier said. “We spent more time making sure our crew could safely operate the vessel. The vessel, we now believe, and the crew are ready for duty.” A woman photographs the replacement ship from Quebec as it approaches the dock in Wood Islands, PEI (Carolyn Ryan/CBC) Cormier said the new vessel carries more passengers, with more seating and outside decks for viewing the Northumberland Strait. But not so many vehicles will be able to pass. “It is rated for 150 cars, but we know from the previous operator that its actual capacity is probably around 125, which is probably around 20 vehicles less than the holiday island.” He said staff will experiment with the ship’s truck deck to see how many vehicles can be loaded. “They probably won’t be as many as the holiday island, but the traffic being moved to Saaremaa will certainly make more truck space available in the Confederation.” We are very optimistic that this is a suitable replacement for this year and possibly for the future.- Donald Cormier Cormier said Northumberland Ferries does not count on having Saaremaa in its peak season fleet until a promising new vessel is built and delivered as early as 2027, although it is an option “for potentially many years” on the PEI- Nova Scotia. “But we are looking at the market for other possibilities,” he said, as Saaremaa is owned by Société des traversiers du Québec (STQ) and that ferry company has no plans to sell it. Saaremaa’s primary role is as a replacement for NM Félix-Adrien Gauthier on the Matane-Godbout-Baie-Comeau ferry line and should return to Quebec if that ship goes out of service. “But we know Gauthier is a new boat and should be pretty reliable. So we’re pretty optimistic that this is a suitable replacement for this year and possibly the future,” Cormier said.
