N.S.-P.E.I. service to resume Monday afternoon

Ferry service between P.E.I. and Nova Scotia is set to resume this afternoon after being cancelled yet again Monday morning.

Northumberland Ferries said in a statement MV Confederation would depart Wood Islands for Caribou at 3 p.m. AT, with a second sailing out of P.E.I. scheduled for 6 p.m.

The 30-year-old ferry has been out of service — with the exception of a few crossings on the Canada Day weekend — since June 17. Northumberland Ferries had been hoping the Confederation would be back on the water by Saturday, but the weekend crossings were cancelled.

On Sunday, the company cancelled Monday morning's crossings saying there would be a further announcement. As of late Monday morning, the company's website still showed all of the day's crossings as being cancelled.

The problem in mid-June caused by a broken part in the port engine main coupling. The Canada Day issue was with the starboard engine coupling.

The route across the Northumberland Strait is normally served by two ferries. The Confederation's sister ferry, MV Holiday Island, was reduced to scrap by a fire last summer.

MV Saaremaa 1, a temporary replacement for the Holiday Island, has been in drydock. It is expected to return to service this week.

"MV Saaremaa 1 is conducting dock fit trials, crew training and certification and route specific preparations over the next few days," Mark Wilson, senior vice-president for Northumberland Ferries, said in the release. "The arrival of MV Saaremaa 1 will enable NFL to operate at traditional peak season service levels."

The company said the Confederation will follow its four-trip operating schedule until the Saaremaa enters service.

A replacement for the Holiday Island was announced in the 2019 federal budget, but the new ferry isn't expected to be ready to sail until 2027.

While the service is operated by Northumberland Ferries, the ships themselves are owned by the federal government.