New N.B.-Corner Brook cargo ferry plan not sunk yet

CORNER BROOK, Nfld. — Transport Canada’s surprise decision to keep Marine Atlantic’s drop trailer service may throw off track plans to establish a new cargo ferry link between Corner Brook and Belledune.

The Corner Brook Port Corporation’s chairperson Ray Pollett told the Moncton Times and Transcript he’s not discouraged by the government’s move to maintain drop service as well as build a second dock in Port aux Basques.

“We’re not going to give up on it,” Pollett told the newspaper. He added the company is still in discussion with potential partners.

Pollett said its up to the trucking industry to decide whether or not it wants to invest in a New Brunswick-Corner Brook sailing when the Port aux Basques service is government subsidized.

It’s up to him, however, to convince carriers and owner-ops that Corner Brook could become a viable alternate port when conditions do not allow docking on the southwestern corner of the island or when the region’s infamous winds are forecast to cause delays to traffic.

— from the Moncton Times & Transcript