Everything’s on the table when it comes to adding capacity and reliability in the intra-provincial ferry system this winter, especially given the state of the two newest boats.
The Flanders, which was taken off the Bell Island run after fire broke out in the engine room in early May, should be back in service over the next few weeks. Transportation Minister Fred Hutton says the ferry system carries hundreds of thousands of passengers per year, and is a vital service to many islands around the province.
Government contracted out a vessel from the Labrador run last winter, and will probably be doing so again this year.
Hutton says the Veteran, which currently rides the waves between Fogo and Change Islands, has two engines and needs three, so it will have to come off the run.
It will take about three months to do that and cost millions of dollars. Hutton says, at some point, they have to decide whether to keep spending money on the Legionnaire and Veteran or go in a different direction.