Marine Atlantic ferries delayed 4 hours after power outage

Marine Atlantic ferries between Nova Scotia and Newfoundland were delayed for four hours on Thursday due to a power outage that wreaked havoc with the company's computerized reservation system.

Darrell Mercer, the spokesperson for the company, says the issue prevented ferries in North Sydney and Port aux Basques from departing on time at 11:45 a.m. in their respective time zones.

A lightning strike knocked out power on the southwestern coast of Newfoundland and that affected the company's computers, Marine Atlantic said in a tweet.

That meant a passenger manifest typically created during loading couldn't be completed, Mercer said.

"The manifest we use for loading the vessel is computerized. It is run through Port aux Basques. It knocked out our entire loading system, from North Sydney, Argentia and Port aux Basques," he said.

The crew ended up doing a manual head count, Mercer said.

"That is the backup system we have in place. In the past, that is what we had to do. It is probably the first time this has happened during loading," he said.

Geoff Younghusband and his family were heading back to St. John's on Thursday. He said Marine Atlantic waited too long to explain to passengers what was causing the delay.

"I certainly feel like there was a certain lack of communication. Lots of people were approaching the reception desk over and over," he said.

"I feel like they certainly could have announced a little better what was going on, to keep us informed, so we'd know why we were four hours waiting."

Younghusband was also unhappy the delay shortened the restaurant's hours on board the ferry.

"The restaurant will still close at its usual time even though we are just setting sail, so there's about 45 minutes left of the hot meal service now and then it will be closed for the rest of the trip," he said Thursday afternoon.

Mercer acknowledged communication to passengers could have gone better, and said it took some time to figure out what was causing computer problem.

He said the ferry's restaurant will have to close at its regular time to prepare for the next sailing and staff need a certain amount of time off between shifts.