Northumberland Ferries Limited advises MV Confederation temporarily out of service.

CHARLOTTETOWN – Jeff Joyce, Vice President of Marine Operations and General Manager of Northumberland Ferries Limited (NFL), is issuing the following statement concerning the status of MV Confederation, operating the Prince Edward Island-Nova Scotia ferry service: 

“On Sunday, September 15, 2024, MV Confederation experienced what we believe was an issue with the de-clutching of the forward end braking propellor entering Wood Islands which resulted in the vessel colliding with the wharf (dolphin structure) on approach for docking at the berth. This resulted in some structural damage to the bow visor on the ship. There were no reported injuries to any of the passengers or crew. The NFL team is engaging with local ship repair facilities to ramp up external support to repair the damage to the vessel’s bow visor. The estimated time for the ship repairs, including approval to operate is not known, but is likely going to be at least a week or two. 

“Service at NFL is reduced to MV Saaremaa I’s sailing schedule until the repair is completed. As a precaution, we are not accepting bookings for the next fourteen days for MV Confederation, up to and including September 29. MV Saaremaa 1 will continue to operate on a four-trip daily schedule. 

"This is a very unfortunate situation. We recognize the impact this has on our customers and the service and apologize for the disruption it is causing. We are doing all we can to fast track the repair to MV Confederation so that we can safely resume full two-vessel service as soon as possible.” 

All customers with reservations on sailings up to September 29 will be contacted to arrange a refund or re-book for alternate dates. NFL will issue a further update, likely mid-week once we have a more detailed timeline for necessary repairs to the ship’s bow visor. Updates will also be provided at our website www.ferries.ca when further information becomes available.