Northumberland Ferries Plagued With Cancellations & Delays

USPA NEWS - Ferry services between Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia will be disrupted due to the impact of tidal patterns. Northumberland Ferries Ltd. indicates that from July 22nd to 28th, vehicle capacity will be restricted on specific sailings, with other sailings cancelled due to the limitations imposed by tidal conditions on loading operations.

Sailings will be impacted. Cancelled sailings are as follows: Tuesday, July 22, 2025, departing Caribou at 1:30 p.m. and Wood Islands at 3:15. Wednesday, July 23, 2025, departing Caribou at 1:30 p.m. and Wood Islands at 3:15. Thursday, July 24, 2025, departing Caribou at 5 p.m. and Wood Islands at 3:15 p.m. and 6:30. Friday, July 25, 2025, departing Caribou at 5 p.m. and Wood Islands at 6:30. Saturday, July 26, 2025, departing Wood Islands at 6:30. Sunday, July 27, 2025, departing Caribou at 5 p.m. and Wood Islands at 6:30. Monday, July 28, 2025, departing Caribou at 5 p.m. and Wood Islands at 6:30.

These interruptions and delays in ferry service constitute the most recent installment in the prolonged narrative of reliability problems. These have affected Northumberland Ferries over the course of several years, thereby causing customer frustration. Just last week, passengers aboard the MV Northumberland, NFL newest ship, faced a delay of nearly six hours on July 16th after the bow visor failed, affecting in excess of 270 passengers.

Jeff Joyce, General Manager for Northumberland Ferries Ltd. (NFL), indicated that the starboard upper cleat for the aft bow visor jammed. Consequently, this prevented the crew from lifting the visor, which is the part of the ship that allows people to embark on either end of the vessel. They worked tirelessly, but were unsuccessful in unjamming it, and time continued to elapse. Eventually, they had to move aside to enable the MV Confederation to berth and offload it's passengers. Following the MV Confederation's berthing at Caribou, the MV Northumberland headed back to Wood Islands with the same traffic with which it had arrived.

Mark Wilson, President and CEO of NFL, pointed out that while both the Confederation and Northumberland boast double-ended visors, the issue was more complex than merely reversing the Northumberland's direction and managing traffic. "As a result of the docking configuration, only one end is suitable for Wood Islands and the other for Caribou, therefore, we were required to go back to Wood Islands." As a result of the Northumberland's issue, passengers faced a delay of almost five hours when crossing the Northumberland Strait.

General Manager, Jeff Joyce, concluded by saying, “It was a major inconvenience.” He confirmed that two MV Northumberland sailings were cancelled on July 16th. He also mentioned that nearly all passengers made the crossing on the MV Confederation, except for an empty bus and a few vehicles. The mechanical issue on the MV Northumberland has been repaired and the ship has returned to full service.