Procuring a larger vessel for the Marine Atlantic fleet isn’t something that is in the Crown Corporation’s purview yet, but in a couple of years it could be.

There are some major upgrades that will be taking place at their facilities over the next few years thanks to $270-million from Ottawa.

Included in that will be the removal of the troublesome Vardy’s Rock in the middle of the harbour in Port aux Basques, and a dock expansion in Argentia.

CEO Murray Hupman says conditions in the harbour and their port facilities place limitations on the size of the vessels they can have.

Right now, he says their max is a 203-meter vessel, but the planned upgrades “open up that window a fair bit.” While it may not be in the next couple of years, larger vessels  are “certainly” in their long-term plans.