A coalition of organizations, including businesses which rely on Marine Atlantic, are ramping up pressure on the feds to address ongoing shortfalls with the essential service.

Representatives of Hospitality Newfoundland and Labrador, the Board of Trade, Municipalities NL, Atlantic Chamber of Commerce, the Retail Council of Canada, as well as restaurateurs and trucking companies gathered this morning in a show of solidarity and urgency on the issue.

It comes in the wake of serious capacity problems last summer. While a new vessel has been promised for this year, it’s not scheduled to arrive until the fall.

The retail council’s Atlantic director, Jim Cormier, says solutions and improvements are long overdue for what amounts to an emergency situation.

“Marine Atlantic has a capacity problem,” said Cormier. “They’ve had one for years, it’s getting worse, and frankly if you had this level of capacity in a health care situation, doctors would call a Code Red. Obviously this is not medical health, but it’s something that really impacts the good people of Newfoundland and Labrador.”

The coalition has written NL MPs seeking their positions and commitment toward immediate improvements, but to date no responses have been received.