Atlantic businesses urge Fed intervention to fix Marine Atlantic

NORTH SYDNEY, N.S. — Transport Canada will consider ordering new vessels as one way to improve sinking service levels at Marine Atlantic.

According to the CBC, the federal government is examining how to fix scheduling and mechanic problems plaguing the North Sydney- Port aux Basques ferry fleet.

"By the fall we’re going to look at all of the options. Some of those may be ordering new vessels," Rob Merrifield, federal minister of state for transportation, said last week.

Tourism industry and trucking groups say the fleet is too old and can’t handle the growing demand for things like priority shipping of perishable goods.

The Crown corporation has been anchored down with a series of problems, including a fire which docked its three-month-old vessel, the Atlantic Vision. 

"As soon as I heard the Vision was delayed, caught on fire, I thought, ‘Oh great, here we go,’" Nova Scotia trucker Joel Hiscock told CBC. "It just makes it worse."

Truckers routinely complain that they’re not a priority for the ferry. Some claim that when things are really slow, roundtrips can take up to 24-hours.