Nova Scotia ferry stuck in ice off Cape Breton since Wednesday, 40 on board

Staff ~ The Cape Breton Post
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Marine Atlantic’s MV Blue Puttee’s has been stuck in heavy ice off about 19 nautical miles off Low Point since Wednesday, with no relief in sight.

Marine Atlantic's Blue Puttees ferry has been stuck in the ice off the coast of Cape Breton since Wednesday.

There are 40 passengers on board, the bulk of them are commercial customers.

The ice conditions are so bad, even the icebreaker is having difficulty getting through.

The Highlanders made it through on Wednesday, with assistance from the Canadian Coast Guard icebreaker Louis St. Laurent.

“The Blue Puttees was coming behind that vessel by a few hours,” said Marine Atlantic spokesman Darrell Mercer.

“The Louis St. Laurent went out to break the ice, but unfortunately weather conditions deteriorated at that time.  Visibility was reduced to near zero, so it suspended icebreaking activities.”

Winds that were associated with the weather system increased ice pressure.

Mercer explained that the Louis St. Laurent had a difficult time trying to break through some of the ice ridges and because of that had to shut down operations.

“Right now we have the Blue Puttees which is stuck and the St. Laurent trying to break through the ice, but not having any luck. Ultimately we are waiting for the wind conditions to change and hopefully that will relieve some of the pressure on the Cape Breton side.”

The wind direction is forecasted to change sometime today to move into a westerly direction.

“We aren’t exactly sure what impact it is going to have, Mother Nature is going to have the final say on that.”

The Atlantic Vision and the Highlanders are both at the dock in North Sydney, loaded and ready to go.

“While the ice conditions are what they are, those vessels can’t leave simply because the icebreaker wouldn’t be able to break a path for them. They will be staying at the dock so we don’t have three vessels stuck in the ice, instead of one.”

Organizations: Canadian Coast Guard, Marine Atlantic

Geographic location: Cape Breton, Nova Scotia, North Sydney

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