‘What’s going on on these ships?’ Marine engineer questions Canada’s ferry safety

An on-board fire, a lost propeller, and a collision with a wharf have a marine engineer at Dalhousie University wondering what the federal government is doing to ensure that Canada’s ferries are safe.

Two of these acccidents happened this month.

The Queen of New Westminster, which connects Vancouver Island to B.C.’s mainland, was pulled from service in the first week of September after a propeller sheared off during a crossing. On Sunday, the MV Confederation ferry, running between Nova Scotia and P.E.I., suffered a mechanical failure that caused it to slam into the wharf, punching a small hole in the bow.

In 2022, the Holiday Island caught fire while crossing between P.E.I. and Nova Scotia. The ferry was evacuated and later scrapped.

“It does bring into question what’s going on on these ships,” said John Dalziel, an adjunct professor in industrial engineering at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

“There seems to be a problem in Canada, across the country, particularly with ferries.”

There were no serious injuries associated with any of these accidents, but Dalziel said the Holiday Island fire in particular had the potential to be a serious disaster. As it turned out, the fire started in calm weather and just as the ferry was pulling into the dock.

Had it happened in rough weather in the middle of the Northumberland Strait, the outcome might have been different, said Dalziel.

‘That ship was in very bad condition’

The Holiday Island fire came just weeks after a CBC News report detailed maintenance problems with the ferry.

Those problems, which led to the ferry being out of service for much of 2016, should have been noticed earlier, said Dalziel.

“That ship was in very bad condition and it should have been known that it was in very bad condition,” he said.

A further concern, he said, is that two years after the Holiday Island fire there is still no report on the cause. Such reports are important to preventing similar future accidents, he said.

“I’d go to [Confederation] Bridge now,” said Dalziel about how to get on and off P.E.I.

“I’d rather go on the ferry myself. I like boat rides, but they don’t seem to have reliability.”

Who is in charge?

The problems highlight the complicated levels of responsibility for many of Canada’s ferries.

Generally responsibility falls on a vessel’s owner, which in the case of the boats running between P.E.I. and Nova Scotia is the federal government. But that’s muddied by Northumberland Ferries, which operates the service, being in charge of maintenance.

Given that confusion, Dalziel recommended another approach for getting answers.

“It’s Transport Canada’s marine safety [program’s] obligation to enforce standards within Canada,” he said.

“I would go and ask them what’s going on. Why did a propeller fall off a ferry in B.C.? Why did the Holiday Island continue to operate in such bad condition?”

CBC News has for weeks been asking for an interview with federal Transport Minister Pablo Rodriguez about the safety and reliability of the Northumberland Ferries service, but he has not been made available.

“We recognize how important reliable ferry service is for Islanders, and operations will continue on this vital route for Atlantic Canadians,” said Laurent de Casanove, press secretary to the minister, in an email Monday.