Nova Scotia tourism hurt by ferry cancellations as tourist season winds down: mayor

CITYnews halifax / By The Canadian Press

PICTOU, N.S. — The mayor of a Nova Scotia town says recent disruptions to the ferry service that links the province with eastern Prince Edward Island are posing a real challenge for the town’s tourism industry.

Pictou Mayor Jim Ryan said tourists routinely stop in the town as they make their way to the nearby ferry terminal in Caribou, N.S., but that hasn’t happened since the vessel was pulled from service earlier this week.

“It’s a real challenge,” Ryan said in an interview Thursday.

“Obviously the silver lining is that it’s not in the middle of tourist season right now, but there are still a lot of people travelling … who have disposable income.”

Without ferry service, people travelling to P.E.I. will likely take the Confederation Bridge — which begins in New Brunswick — instead of driving to Caribou and making a stop in Pictou, Ryan said.

The service was halted Tuesday after the MV Saaremaa began experiencing “technical issues.” That disruption came after the MV Confederation, which also transports people along the same route, was taken out of service on Sept. 15 when it ran into a wharf.

“It’s the unpredictability of the whole service that is at stake here going forward if people are having to decide if, ‘well, I wonder if (the ferry) is running today?’”

Northumberland Ferries, which operates the two vessels, says repairs to the main engine of the MV Saaremaa have yet to be completed, and the ship won’t be ready for testing until Monday or Tuesday. Service between Caribou and Wood Island, P.E.I., is expected to resume on Wednesday morning.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 26, 2024.

The Canadian Press