Freight Ferry Service To Be Cancelled

CANADA – At a time when the rest of the world is turning against road haulage and looking for more environmentally acceptable ways to ship freight it is worth remembering that in some communities around the world many people do not have the luxury of treading the ecological path. This week an announcement from the provincial government of Labrador spelled the end of a ferry service that moved into local authority hands in 1997.

In that year the plans for the Trans-Labrador Highway (TLH) were announced and the government took over a service previously operated by Marine Atlantic serving ports like Lewisporte, Cartwright and Happy Valley-Goose Bay along the rugged Labrador coastline. Now Phase lll of the C$300 million scheme are completed the road which runs between South and West Labrador will enable truckers to call at points which were previously impossible to reach by road in some conditions.

The change in ferry service will not mean a complete end to waterborne freight from the ports as both Happy Valley and Lewisporte will maintain cargo services to the North coast.

Photo:- The freight and passenger ferry MV Sir Robert Bond which is being withdrawn from service.