Passengers stuck on ferry to Souris for 24 hours
Small fire on CTMA ferry causes disruption in service to Magdalen Islands
Ferry service between Souris, P.E.I. and the Magdalen Islands is expected to return to normal Tuesday, February 10 after a small fire late last week put the ferry out of commission for a few days.
Fleet manager, Mario Landry, said the CTMA ferry "Vacancier" was half way to Souris last Thursday morning when the incident happened.
"We had a very small fire in the exhaust pipe of one of the main engines starboard side that was extinguished very quickly," said Landry.
"And then the ice conditions were very, very heavy. We only could use one main engine up to Souris. So with the ice conditions, we only docked the other day on Friday morning. They were on the boat almost for 24 hours."
Landry said there was plenty of food on board for the passengers. He said people understood the situation but were glad to finally get into port.
The ferry was then assisted by the Coast Guard back to the Magdalen Islands for repairs.
Landry said the repairs are almost complete. The next departure from the Magdalen Islands takes place Tuesday, at 8 a.m.
Landry said ice conditions are extremely heavy. He notes some of his captains say they haven't seen ice this thick in about 15 years.