Despite some of the substantial challenges presented the last year and a half, Marine Atlantic is looking ahead to projects to help them come out of the pandemic.

On Tuesday, the company provided an update on its activities for the fiscal year that ended March 31.

Overall, Marine Atlantic contended with a drop of about 50 per cent in passenger traffic.

They had $219-million in total expenditures. $83-million was generated in user pay, which was just over $22-million less than the previous year.

The rest of the company’s expenditures were covered through federal government subsidy.

Despite the pandemic, Board Chair Gary O’Brien says they moved forward with several initiatives, some of which will focus on Port aux Basques.

He says a new administration building will be built, which they hope will be ready sometime in 2023-24.

As well, he says preliminary planning is underway for navigational improvements to the Port aux Basques harbour.

Meanwhile, O’Brien says Marine Atlantic is also adding a new vessel to its fleet.

He explains that the vessel will be similar to those already in the fleet. They will enter into a 60-month charter agreement for the vessel, after which they will have the option to purchase. It is expected to be delivered in 2024.