MV Holiday Island Fire Still Burning

USPA NEWS - Northumberland Ferries service between Nova Scotia and Prince Edward Island has been suspended for Saturday, July 23rd and Sunday July 24th due to the ongoing fire event onboard the MV Holiday Island.

STATEMENT ISSUED ON JULY, 22ND Vice President for Northumberland Ferries Limited, Don Cormier, issued the following statement regarding the fire Friday morning onboard the MV Holiday Island: “Holiday Island was making a scheduled 10am crossing from Caribou to Wood Islands. Just after 11am nearing approach into Wood Islands, the ship experienced a fire in the Engine Room. Ship’s crew and safety systems contained the fire. Captain took necessary precautions and dropped both anchors and directed the ship onto a soft shoal outside the harbour entrance to Wood Islands. There are no reported injuries to customers or crew. Joint Rescue Coordination Center has been informed. We are currently in the process of safely evacuating the passengers in a controlled manner. This is being coordinated with JRCC, Canadian Coast Guard, and local authorities. Out of an abundance of caution and to focus on safely getting the passengers ashore, we are suspending all operations today on the Wood Islands-Caribou service. We apologize for the inconvenience to our customers and our focus at this time is the safety of our passengers, ensuring our passengers are safely evacuated ashore and the safety of our crew.”

UPDATE SATURDAY, JULY 23RD, 2022. Sources have confirmed with USPA News, that the fire in the engine room onboard the MV Holiday Island is still active because the area is too hot to get close enough to fight the flames. We are also being told that there is a possibility that the ship may have to be partially sunk to extinguish the blaze.

Northumberland Ferries statement, July 23rd, 2022: "This is a brief update on the status for our Holiday Island passengers. The Holiday Island recovery process continues and the fire has not yet been extinguished onboard. We do not know yet whether your vehicles can be recovered. Because of the uncertainty, and the uncertainty as to timing, we feel it best that we try to get you home as soon as posible. We are working with bus companies to arrange pick up for you today. For passengers originating outside of southeast New Brunswick and Nova Scotia, we will have separate discussions with you. In the meantime, we also wish to make arrangements to collect and identify your vehicle keys so that we may easily access your vehicle if recovery is posible. Our team will be contacting you shortly by phone to confirm arrangements and next steps."

For the most up-to-date scheduling information visit: www.ferries.ca or call toll-free 1-800-565-0201.