The shipping company that brings in 70 per cent of all the goods purchased on the Avalon Peninsula has canceled one of the three runs from its weekly delivery schedule.
Captain Sid Hynes is the Executive Chairman with Oceanex. He says the organization is doing what it needs to in order to stay afloat during the COVID-19 crisis.
Since the beginning of the pandemic, Hynes says the company has seen a 35 per cent drop in business, and is losing between $1.7- to $2-million per week.
Captain Sid Hynes
Hynes says Oceanex can no longer absorb the loss and is removing one of the ships that make a weekly trip from Montreal to St. John’s.
The company has been criticized for cutting services at this time as it may lead to panic buying if people think they may run out of food.
He notes that Oceanex is a private company dealing with the same issues as the rest of the world. He says people can’t expect Oceanex to “put itself into bankruptcy just because they don’t want to hear the truth.”
Hynes says they have asked the federal government to step in and make up the almost $2-million weekly shortfall, but so far there has been no response.
Hynes says they have asked for the help, “So we can maintain that service, so there will be no disruption and people don’t need to have these thoughts.”
He said, “This is a government issue, not an Oceanex issue. We are not the government”
Marine Atlantic Ready to Meet Demand
(VOCM file photo.)
Marine Atlantic says it is ready to meet demand and is currently using about 50 per cent of its overall capacity on a daily basis.
Marine Atlantic carries a large portion of the island’s goods.
The service has a four-vessel fleet, with two vessels in service to meet demand.
Spokesperson Darrell Mercer says they have the ability to add more crossings to the schedule with two vessels in standby mode.
