'Huge disappointment': Suspension of ferry to N.B. has Digby worried about economic losses

The fall season is still normally a busy time for the Sydney Street Pub and Cafe in Digby, N.S., but the owner is worried this year is going to be quiet.

Saskia Geerts says losing the ferry service to Saint John when the ship goes in for a refit is coming at a bad time.

The MV Fundy Rose that runs between the two communities will be out of commission from Oct. 16 through Dec. 2, when it goes to a shipyard in Quebec for a biannual refit.

"It's a huge disappointment," said Geerts.

People who are still around touring the Maritimes and would normally take the ferry from Saint John to Digby are unlikely to drive all the way around, she said.

"They've done this once before a couple of years ago, and it basically means an absolute abrupt end to your tourism season," Geerts said, adding she is now considering making changes to hours of operation and staffing as a result.

Digby Mayor Ben Cleveland said the region of southwestern Nova Scotia will be impacted.

"Any time that you pull a transportation link away, you're going to lose people," Cleveland said. "It's not only the tourists that travel that ferry, there's students, there's a business trade going back and forth."

Backup ferry needed, says local chamber of commerce

The issue is leading some to call for a backup ferry in cases of scheduled maintenance.

"This is like tearing up a piece of a major highway and saying, 'Well, we're going to take the highway out of commission for one, two, three months.' That's just insanity," said Dan White, the CEO of the West Nova Chamber of Commerce.

A replacement ferry should be scheduled to step in so the transportation corridor is not interrupted, he said. 

Trucking companies that would normally take seafood products to the U.S. market of Boston on the ferry now face much longer drives to get there, he said. 

And the extended journey could also require hiring a second driver to meet driving hour regulations, adding to their costs.

Better now than later for lobster industry

The ferry goes for the refit just as the lobster fishing season in the Bay of Fundy is due to start. 

Kris Vascotto, the executive director of the Nova Scotia Seafood Alliance, was surprised to hear of the refit, but he said the impact should be "relatively minimal" as long as the ferry is back up and running by early December.

The lucrative fishing grounds from Digby Neck to Barrington Bay in southwestern Nova Scotia will be open by then.

"This is not a bad time to have this suspension happen, especially given the substantial increase in landings that we're going to see towards the end of November," Vascotto said.

Ship's hull to be inspected and painted

In announcing the news, Bay Ferries said the ship goes into dry dock every two years. It will operate through Thanksgiving and be back for the busy Christmas period.

It is expected the hull will be inspected, scraped and painted, the company said, in addition to work on propeller blades.

Some passenger amenities on board will also get a deep cleaning

The last sailing before the ship goes in for work will be Oct. 15 at 8 a.m. AT from Saint John to Digby. 

Service is expected to resume Dec. 3 with the 4 p.m. departure from Digby to Saint John.