Ferry breakdowns worry Islanders

The Petit Princess ferry lost a propeller Dec. 29. On Jan. 10 she burst a hydraulic hose and sat loaded with cars and passengers for almost three hours at the Tiverton ramp.

"It seems to be breaking down more than before," says Roger Outhouse who was on the boat Jan. 10, echoing comments made by many other Islanders. "It makes you wonder if they are up to snuff with maintenance."

Outhouse says he knows the crews work hard and are doing their very best. He does worry that funding constraints makes their job more difficult.

Outhouse says the crew told passengers about 10:45 a.m. on Jan. 10 that it was going to take about ten minutes to make a quick repair.

"It sounded like a routine fix, like they were used to making this kind of repair," says Outhouse. "It looked they were trying to fix it but then it after 15 or 20 minutes it became apparent they couldn't find the part they needed."

The crew continued looking while they waited for a part to come up from Digby. A fishing boat brought the part over from East Ferry but Outhouse says it didn't seem to be exactly what they needed.

"At around 1:25 they said they couldn't fix it but at 1:30 they had it working and we left the wharf."

Outhouse saw the crew working in the same area when he came back over on the ferry near 7:30 p.m. that night. Crews were working there again when the ferry broke down for 15 minutes late in the afternoon on Jan. 18.

Iris Rogers of Westport was another passenger waiting on the ferry Jan. 10. She was headed to the hospital in Digby to have her ankle looked at.

"I didn't know it was broken at the time," says Rogers unfazed. "It wasn't really hurting, just kind of numb. I've got a cast to my knee now."

Steve Smith, a spokesman for the Nova Scotia Department of Transportation says the budget for the marine services section has not changed and in fact the Petit Princess has just finished a complete refit.

Kevin Mitchell, the director of fleet management for the Nova Scotia Department of Transportation says the propeller incident is under investigation but that breakdowns do happen.

"Even after refit," says Mitchell. "We look at both major and minor things on refit. We do various repairs from the wear parts on the ramps, we do painting, and also inspection of the holds. The ferries are mechanical machines, they are running 24/7. We try to have wear parts on hand but we can't have every length of hydraulic hose."

Mitchell says his budget is sufficient.

"I think everybody would like to have more money but we have the resources to keep our boats running at the optimum level.

"You don't cut corners on ferries. These ferries need to operate reliably and safely. We don't cut corners."

jriley@digbycourier.ca