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| Type | Private Company |
|---|---|
| Founded | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island (1941) |
| Headquarters | Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, Canada |
| Key people | Mark MacDonald, President & CEO |
| Industry | Transportation |
| Products | Ferry service |
| Revenue | N/A CAN |
| Employees | N/A (2006) |
| Website | www.nfl-bay.com |
Northumberland Ferries Limited (NFL) is a ferry company operating in eastern Canada and headquartered in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. NFL is also the owner of subsidiaries Bay Ferries Limited and Bay Ferries Great Lakes Limited through its holding company.
NFL has operated the ferry service that carries the Trans-Canada Highway across the eastern part of the Northumberland Strait between Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island and Caribou, Nova Scotia since it was established in 1941 by the Government of Canada. This service is seasonal and only operates between the months of May and December on account of heavy sea ice and the lack of icebreaking ferries.
NFL currently operates two vessels owned by the Government of Canada: Confederation built in 1993, and Holiday Island built in 1971. While Confederation has been operated exclusively by NFL since she was built, Holiday Island only joined NFL in 1997 after being declared surplus by previous operator Marine Atlantic upon completion of the Confederation Bridge. NFL also operates the ferry terminals in Wood Islands and Caribou, both of which are owned by the Government of Canada.
As an interprovincial ferry service, the route qualifies for a federal subsidy which is provided to NFL to offset losses in return for operating the vessels and terminals. This subsidy was fully renewed for 5 years in March 2005.
Transport Canada had initially proposed a reduction in funding to permit operation between the months of May and October only, and after 2008 the service was to be reduced to only one vessel. The proposed service changes raised protests in both Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia by residents and politicians, forcing the federal government to maintain the status quo.
Former ferries
List of ferries formerly operated by NFL:
- MV Prince Nova, formerly Erie Isle (1941-1958) - built by Ferguson Industries, Pictou, N.S. and sold to a Connecticut company for $1.4 million in 1998
- MV Charles A. Dunning, formerly SS Sankaty (1941, 1946-1964) - triple expansion engine had 800 horsepower and capacity for 23 autos and 4 trucks was purchased by NFL in 1941 but transferred to the Royal Canadian Navy for use as a minelayer during World War II before being returned to NFL post-war; sold for scrap in 1964
- MV Lord Selkirk (1958-1993) - bought by NFL, the ferry had capacity for 65 automobiles; sold to company in Panama
- MV Confederation (1975-1993) purchased in 1975 from CN with capacity for 60 cars; she was sold in 1994 to shipping line Groupe Desgagnes in Quebec and refitted and renamed Nordik Passeur for ferry service to Anticosti Island only to be mothballed; she was scrapped in Turkey in 2007.
- MV Prince Nova (1963-1997), carried the same name as the original vessel. Sold to Cross Sound Ferry Services, a company operating ferry services across Long Island Sound and renamed the Susan Anne.
- MV Prince Edward (1972-1997) the 1,765 tons (Length of 249 feet and breadth of 55 1/2 feet; the load draft is 12 feet) had capacity for 60 automobiles and built in Pictou, N.S. in 1972; sold to Government of Newfoundland and Labrador in 1997 and renamed the MV Captain Earl W. Windsor for ferry service to Fogo Island and the Change Islands.