Northumberland

The 'Northumberland' cancelled two crossings between Prince Edward Island and Nova Scotia on July 16 due to am ongoing technical issue. Affected were the 5 p.m. departure from Caribou, N.S., and the 6:30 p.m. crossing leaving Wood Islands, P.E.I. One of four metal pins that secure the ferry's bow visor did not release as the vessel arrived in Caribou around midday. Crews tried unsuccessfully to unlock the door, but had to move the ferry out of the way so that the company's other vessel, the 'Confederation', could dock and drop off its passengers. The 'Northumberland' had left Wood Island bound for Nova Scotia at 11:45 a.m. and was due to disembark the passengers in Caribou at 1 p.m. As of 4:30 p.m., the passengers were still onboard. They were being offered free food and drinks as the ship headed back to Wood Islands, where the ship had to turn around to unload its complement of cars and trucks through the operational bow visor at the other end, meaning at least some passengers would have to reverse out of the ferry. Just before 5 p.m. the ferry had docked, and unloading was underway. The 'Northumberland' was back in service on July 17, as it could operate with three of the four metal pins, along with one temporary pin.

On Jan 26, 2025, the 'Northumberland' (formerly the Elbe ferry 'Fanafjord') arrived in Pictou. The ferrywill serve the Wood Islands, Prince Edward Island to Caribou, Nova Scotia route. She was acquired by the Government of Canada as an interim solution to replace the former 'Holiday Island'. The vessel will now undergo final refit work to prepare for service. This vessel allows for a safe and reliable two-vessel service between Woods Islands, Prince Edward Island, and Caribou, Nova Scotia. The 'Northumberland' is expected to be ready for service for the beginning of the 2025 operating season. Report with photo: https://www.canada.ca/en/transport-canada/news/2025/01/canada-welcomes-the-arrival-of-the-mv-northumberland.html

The 'Fanafjord' got back its original name on March 14. The ship has remained stationary in Haugesund since Dec 20, 2021. She has been put up for sale and was due to be moved to Molde on March 21.

The “Greenferry I”, servicing between Brunsbüttel and Cuxhaven has ceased operations on Dec 12. Applied for Corona hardship aid had not been approved. The ship is now to be brought back to Norway, only three quarters of a year after the start. At the end of November, the Elbferry company had filed for insolvency at the Cuxhaven district court due to impending insolvency. Previously, the corona hardship aid of 800,000 Euros applied for by the operators in June had been rejected. An objection had also been rejected by the hardship commission of the state of Schleswig-Holstein. There was no longer any hope that a continuation of the ferry operation was any longer economically justifiable. The chartered ferry will now be returned to the Norwegian owner. The Ministry of Economic Affairs in Kiel said there was no doubt that the hardship commission did not make the decision easy for itself. Overall, however, there were clearly too many economic and legal reasons against the use of tax money. Economics Minister Bernd Buchholz (FDP) had always emphasized that a ferry connection between Brunsbüttel and Cuxhaven was desirable, but had to be economically viable. For Cuxhaven's Lord Mayor Uwe Santjer (SPD) was concerned: "The suspension of the ferry line it is clear that the pandemic has made a significant contribution to the fact that the passenger and transport volume has not turned out as hoped. The "Greenferry I" started operating in early March, in the middle of a lockdown. It connected Brunsbüttel in Schleswig-Holstein and Cuxhaven in Lower Saxony every three hours. After filing for bankruptcy, managing director Ahlers said that the company had been planned at the end of 2020. At that time, it was not foreseeable that the ferry would not be fully utilized in spring 2021 due to the corona pandemic.