MV Princess of Acadia (1971)
{{Short description|Ferry}}
{{other ships|MV Princess of Acadia}}
| {{Infobox ship begin}}
{{Infobox ship image |Ship image=File:Princess of Acadia Ferry Saint John NB Digby NS.jpg |Ship caption= }} {{Infobox ship career |Hide header= |Ship name= Princess of Acadia |Ship owner=*Minister of Transport (1976-2015)
|Ship operator=*Bay Ferries (1997-2015)
|Ship registry={{CAN}}, Saint John |Ship route= Bay of Fundy |Ship ordered=1969 |Ship builder=Saint John Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Ltd., Saint John |Ship original cost= $8-million CAD |Ship yard number= |Ship way number= |Ship laid down= January 1, 1970 |Ship launched= |Ship completed=1971 |Ship christened= |Ship acquired= May 27, 1971 |Ship maiden voyage=June 1, 1971 |Ship in service= May 27, 1971 |Ship out of service= July 28, 2015 |Ship identification=*Call sign: VGDT
|Ship fate= Scrapped |Ship notes= Replaced by {{MV|Fundy Rose}} }} {{Infobox ship characteristics |Hide header= |Header caption= |Ship tonnage={{GT|10051.71}}, {{DWT|2447}} |Ship length={{convert|480|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship beam={{convert|66|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship draught={{convert|15|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship depth={{convert|40|ft|m|abbr=on}} |Ship decks= |Ship deck clearance= |Ship propulsion=2 diesel electric engines |Ship speed= |Ship capacity=650 passengers |Ship crew=28 }} |
MV Princess of Acadia was a roll-on/roll-off passenger and motor vehicle ferry that traveled between Digby, Nova Scotia and Saint John, New Brunswick, crossing the Bay of Fundy. The vessel held 650 passengers and could transport 180 automobile equivalents.[http://www.acadiaferry.com/the-ship/general-particulars/ The Princess of Acadia Ferry: General Particulars | Bay Ferries Limited] On July 28, 2015 the ship was replaced by {{MV|Fundy Rose}}.
Career
In 1969 Canadian Pacific Limited subsidiary CP Ships sought to renew its Digby - Saint John passenger-only ferry service operated by SS Princess of Acadia. The federal government subsidized construction of the new passenger and motor vehicle ferry Princess of Acadia at Saint John Shipbuilding & Dry Dock Co., Ltd. and built new ferry terminals at Digby and Saint John in exchange for a commitment from CP Ships to operate the service until such time as it was no longer profitable. Princess of Acadia entered service in June 1971, replacing her namesake, and operated on the Digby - Saint John route for CP Ships until the service began to lose money by the mid-1970s.[http://miramarshipindex.org.nz/ Miramar Ship Index], MV Princess of Acadia, ID#7039567Musk, George. (1981). Canadian Pacific: The Story of the Famous Shipping Line, p. 86.
File:Princess of Acadia Ferry02 Saint John NB Digby NS.jpg
Under the terms of the 1969 agreement, CP Ships transferred ownership of the vessel in 1976 to the Minister of Transport. The federal government transferred management of the vessel to the newly created Crown corporation CN Marine. In 1986 CN Marine was renamed Marine Atlantic. In 1997 the federal government removed itself from managing the vessel and operating and subsidizing the Digby - Saint John route. The winning bidder for the service was Bay Ferries, a subsidiary of Northumberland Ferries Limited (NFL); the federal government remained the owner of the vessel and the ferry terminals.
Princess of Acadia continued in service under the management of Bay Ferries after 1997. In the mid-2000s, the rising operating costs and absence of a subsidy from the federal government began to raise the issue of whether the ferry was sustainable. Beginning in 2006 both the provincial governments of New Brunswick and Nova Scotia as well as the Government of Canada extended an operating subsidy to Bay Ferries to keep the service operating. The Digby-to-Saint John ferry service received further subsidy from federal government in July 2014.[http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1223101-digby-caribou-ferry-services-get-funding-boost-from-ottawa Digby, Caribou ferry services get funding boost from Ottawa]
In 2013 the federal government announced $60 million in funding toward a replacement of Princess of Acadia.[http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/saint-john-digby-ferry-to-be-replaced-1.1321075 Saint John-Digby ferry to be replaced] On 27 October 2014 the Federal Government announced the purchase from Blue Star Ferries, Greece of Blue Star Ithaki, built in 2000, for about €31 million. She will enter service in Canada in 2015.{{cite news|last1=Medel|first1=Brian|title=Feds buy Digby ferry successor for about $44.3 million|url=http://thechronicleherald.ca/novascotia/1246900-feds-buy-digby-ferry-successor-for-about-443-million|accessdate=28 October 2014|work=The Chronicle Herald|date=27 October 2014|location=Halifax NS}}{{cite news|title=Attica confirms sale|url=http://www.tradewindsnews.com/shipsales/347445/Attica-confirms-sale|accessdate=28 October 2014|work=TradeWinds|date=27 October 2014|location=Oslo, Norway}}
Princess of Acadia was scrapped in Port Colborne, Ontario by Marine Recycling Corporation in 2018.{{cite web | url=https://www.stcatharinesstandard.ca/news-story/8876972-ship-recycling-company-expects-work-to-keep-coming/ | title=Ship recycling company expects work to keep coming | publisher=St. Catharines Standard | date=3 September 2018 | accessdate=7 October 2018}}
File:Princess of acadia leaving SJ for last time.JPG
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Notes
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References
- Musk, George. (1981). [https://books.google.com/books?id=iWoTAAAAYAAJ&q=ss+empress+of+britain Canadian Pacific: The Story of the Famous Shipping Line.] Toronto: Holt, Rinehart and Winston of Canada. {{ISBN|978-0-03-920291-0}}; [https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/7540915 OCLC 7540915]
External links
- [http://www.nfl-bay.com Bay Ferries]
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Category:Ferries of Nova Scotia
Category:Ferries of New Brunswick
Category:Ships built in Saint John, New Brunswick