New ferry to carry four times capacity of MV Grand Manan

Grand Manan residents and businesses, who have had to deal with long line-ups in the summer to get off or on the island, are pleased with the news that the New Brunswick Department of Transportation is going forward with plans for the construction of a new ferry that can hold four times as many vehicles as the 41-year-old MV Grand Manan, which will be replaced as it is reaching the end of its service life. The department also will be having a new ferry for White Head Island constructed. However, the new Grand Manan ferry will not be in service for over three years, and the new White Head ferry will not be ready for five years.

The Grand Manan vessel will be 95 metres long and will hold up to 101 cars. The new ferry for White Head Island will hold 12 cars, a four-car increase over the MV Lady White Head ferry.

Mayor Dennis Greene, who is a member of the task force that was formed by the minister of transportation about two years ago to consider the ferry service, says the announcement was expected. Although a vessel that could hold 125 vehicles was considered at first, he says he is comfortable with the size as long as it can hold more than 100 vehicles. The vessel it will be replacing, known as the "black boat," is 51 metres long and can hold about 25 vehicles. The more recent vessel, the Grand Manan V, which is just over 70 metres in length, can hold about 65 vehicles, but that specification refers to more compact European cars, since it was built in Holland. The new vessel's specifications are for U.S.-sized vehicles, Greene notes. Although there are shipyards in Canada that can construct the ferry, he understands that the request for proposals will be issued worldwide. The request for qualifications (RFQ) is for not only designing and building the ferries but for operating the service and maintaining the vessels and associated wharves for 15 to 20 years.
"We've been working on this for about five years," says Greene, who notes the completion of the new Grand Manan ferry is not planned until late 2009. "We'll be waiting for the day," he comments.

According to the department, the successful proponent will take responsibility for the Grand Manan and White Head ferry services in the spring of 2009. However, the new White Head Island ferry is not scheduled for delivery until 2011. The MV Lady White Head was built around 1975, according to Greene, and is in need of being replaced.
In a release, Transportation Minister Paul Robichaud stated, "By building strategic infrastructure such as the new Grand Manan and White Head ferries we can make the islands' fishing and aquaculture industries more competitive, enhance tourism, and bring greater prosperity to the islands and to the province."

Greene agrees that the new vessel will help the fishing, aquaculture and tourism businesses. Although the line-ups for the ferries have not been bad this year, because of a drop in tourism and a decrease in trucking for the aquaculture industry, in other years waits of four hours or longer were not uncommon during the summer.

Proponents will be required to submit proposals to sell or lease the new Grand Manan vessel to the province. The replacement White Head vessel will be owned by the province and operated by the successful proponent on the province's behalf.

"The department has evaluated its options to determine the best method of providing ferry services to Grand Manan and White Head islands," Robichaud said. "This process will assure us of a quality vessel and encourage innovation."

The names of the preferred proponents proceeding to the request for proposals (RFP) phase will be announced, as will the name of the successful proponent. Executive summaries of the RFQ and RFP will be published on the department's website. Contract details will be released upon signing.