12-day delay for 1st voyage of Marine Atlantic's new ferry

Marine Atlantic's new ferry, the Ala'suinu, was scheduled to have its first passenger voyage on July 14. The inaugural voyage is now expected to take place June 26. (Marine Atlantic)

Marine Atlantic says a problem with its new ferry has pushed back the date of its first voyage nearly two weeks.

Captain Anderson Noel, Marine Atlantic's director of fleet operations, said Thursday the Ala'suinu — which had been scheduled to begin its Argentia-North Sydney run on June 14 — will have its inaugural voyage on June 26,

Colin Tibbo, Marine Atlantic's vice-president of customer experience, said about 3,600 passengers who were booked on the Ala'suinu will be rebooked on other routes.

Last week, Marine Atlantic announced a mechanical error with the lubrication system had been found during a review of the vessel.

Tibbo said the Crown ferry corporation will be adding 13 routes on other ferries to get affected passengers to their destinations and cut down on port times.

Noel said the problem is covered under warranty.

The Ala'suinu is owned by Swedish company Stena North Sea, which built the ferry in China. Marine Atlantic is leasing the vessel for five years, after which it will determine whether it wants to purchase the ferry.

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