Holiday Island Fire Update

USPA NEWS - The investigation into the circumstances surrounding the fire onboard the MV Holiday Island on Friday morning forcing 182 passengers and crew to evacuate the ship is now in the hands of the Transportation Safety Board of Canada. The fire started in the engine room at approximately 11am as the ship was approaching the Wood Islands, PEI ferry terminal. Northumberland Ferries said that the Captain purposely ran the ship aground outside the harbour entrance to Wood Islands, where life rafts were deployed.

On Sunday morning Vice President of Northumberland Ferries, Don Cormier, said in a statement that as of 0830 the MV Holiday Island has successfully been towed and docked at the Wood Islands, ferry terminal. It is believed the fire was successfully extinguished late Saturday. Stability was verified, evacuation slides were disconnected and recovered ashore, anchors disconnected, and tugs secured to the ship. There will be several other activities around safety including verifying ship stability, structural integrity, dewatering, and further environmental protection measures."

Cormier did not say when ferry service would resume, but it is expected that the ferry service provider will communicate details later today. It is still unknown if any vehicles or possessions can be recovered and returned to passengers and if so what the timeline might be. Northumberland Ferries is currently communicating directly with each passenger to provide the most up-to-date information.

LATE DEVELOPMENT JULY 24TH, 2022: Vice President of Northumberland Ferries, Don Cormier, said in a late afternoon statement that the process of unloading vehicles from the MV Holiday Island has commenced, but he acknowledged that in some cases it will take some time for owners to get them back as many will have to be delivered to locations off of Prince Edward Island. Cormier also said that ferry service will be suspended until at least Tuesday morning.

USPA News will continue to provide updates concerning resumption of service and other timelines. For the most up-to-date scheduling information visit: www.ferries.ca or call toll-free 1-800-565-0201.