Grand Manan ferry docked again with problems

The Grand Manan Adventure is docked once again as the new ferry is experiencing engine problems.

Gregg Ryder, the director of finance and administration for Coastal Transport, said the ferry is being serviced by an engine technician from Winnipeg.

Ryder said the engine problems have nothing to do with the previous repairs.

"The whole ship and the engine are new to us. This is the first time we have had this problem," Ryder said.

"[The specialist] has been taking the engine apart, certain components of it ...  and analyzing it just to determine exactly what happened so we can replace any needed parts and get back on the run as soon as possible."

This is the latest problem for a ferry that has been dogged by a series of setbacks.

The delivery of the $68-million ferry was delayed at the end of June when it encountered mechanical problems during sea trials in Panama City, Fla. The ferry overheated because of the failure of a pipe.

The bow thrusters failed on Aug. 15, just four days after it was officially launched.

It was returned to service on Aug. 18, but was to return to the dry dock on Sept. 11 for 10 days of additional repairs.

The ferry went down again in October.

The Coastal Transport official said the most recent set back is all part of the breaking-in process with the ferry and has not caused any delays in the current ferry services to and from the island.

"We are hearing virtually nothing, there is very little reaction at this point and I think it is because the Grand Manan V is operating and it is handling all the traffic," Ryder said.

"Our traffic will actually decrease and it won't actually increase until next spring. So we'll have this up and running and the bugs worked out of the ship long before the traffic capacity is needed."

Ryder said he expects the Grand Manan Adventure will be back up and running by early next week.