Critics call for action after ferry breaks down
There was more trouble aboard the MV Beaumont Hamel Friday. The provincial ferry was taken out of service and off the Bell Island run around 7:20 a.m. after a problem was discovered with the bow thruster.
In an email, a Transportation and Works spokeswoman said a contractor arrived on site and replaced a bad circuit board in one of the bow thruster control systems.
The vessel returned to its regular service at 11:20 a.m.
The Beaumont Hamel only resumed crossing The Tickle again last weekend, something Transportation and Works Minister Tom Hedderson and Conception Bay East-Bell Island MHA David Brazil deemed worthy of a news conference.
The ferry had been undergoing repairs to its visor, which was damaged May 30 when it lost reverse propulsion and collided with the dock in Portugal Cove-St. Philip’s.
Friday’s mechanical problem was unrelated to those recent repairs, the spokeswoman said.
Time to replace the ferries: NDP critic
George Murphy, New Democrat critic for Transportation and Works, says it’s time government seriously looked at replacing the ferries on the Bell Island run.
“The people over there are being told, ‘Sorry, you are well down the waiting list. Are they going to be putting up with junk for the next couple of years, because that’s what they got. They’ve got junk. It’s garbage. It’s reprehensible.”
Bad weekend for breakdown
The Liberals, in a news release, pointed out that this weekend is one of the busiest weekends of the year for Bell Island.
“They have a live concert with over a 1,000 people expected, a graveyard mass that will double the island’s population, as well as hosting the annual Bell Island Day on Sunday,” Transportation and Works shadow Eddie Joyce said.
“I urge government to get two vessels that are capable of accommodating the influx of travellers this weekend.
“Government committed to have ferries built and in service by now but to date we have seen nothing. Government needs to take immediate action to provide safe and reliable ferries in the province.”