Well, it's official: Two great Canadian ferries are being recycled and I had a feeling this is what was eventually going to happen sooner than later. Since it was announced that both were sold, there was a lot of things that given me the "red light" on what was going to happen. Here's my list of "red light items". 1: new owners for MV Caribou: It was reported it was a company from St. Vincent the new owners. According to a source, the MV Abegweit's final owner while being delivered to Alang (if true) was a company from the same country. 2: name change: "Caribou" was changed to "Caribo", and later "J&C Smallwood" to just "Smallwood", dead giveaway to only painted letters instead of a new name was kind of odd to me. 3:Caribou flying a ripped Indian flag: This is when I felt her fate was sealed. 4: Same registry: The registry of both Caribou and J&C Smallwood was changed from St. Johns, NL to Basseterre, KN to me meant a trip to the breakers as I seen a picture on the Maxim Gorkiy (renamed Maxim M) with the Basseterre registry in the same font on one of her lifeboats on her way to Alang.
Do I blame Marine Atlantic for this, no I don't, they're in the business of providing service between the provinces of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia, not buying and selling ships. That's why ICAP Shipping was contracted to do the sale of both ships after their retirement. Anyway, this makes a sad situation into what I consider a nautical disaster.
Update (10/6/11): I neglected to mention this, but, according to a release by Marine Atlantic a couple of years ago, the ships mentioned above do no meet SOLAS (Safety Of Life At Sea) standards and as of 2010, Canadian regulations deem it mandatory for passenger ships especially to meet these standards. Could the SOLAS standards bee too onerous for these ships to pass here and abroad? We may never know.
Wow, this is devastating - I grew up travelling both of those ferries. I remember when they were both brand-spanking new and how "high tech" they seemed at the time.
ReplyDeleteLast I got to ride on one of them was the Caribou when I was crossing to visit family during Christmas 2007, and at the time I knew that this ship wouldn't be long on the Gulf service (though I never imagined she'd be scrapped so soon), so I appreciated the opportunity to experience her for what I imagined for the last time.