Fogo Island protestors remain aboard Astron W ferry
Fogo Island - Cape Freels MHA skeptical ferry will remain
Fogo Island - Cape Freels MHA Jim McKenna said protestors aboard the Astron W ferry aren't leaving just because the provincial government said in a news release the vessel remains on the route between Fogo Island, Change Islands, and Farewell.
"We think they just put that clipping out to try to brainwash us that, okay, it's over, the Astron is going to remain on Fogo Island, and then they're going to come back and contradict, say, 'No, we never said that,'" McKenna said.
The Department of Transportation and Infrastructure said in an email late Friday afternoon the Astron W vessel "remains on the route and is presently docked at the Fogo Island terminal."
McKenna said people on Fogo Island are worried the vessel will still be moved to Bell Island.
The provincial government had planned to move the ferry to Bell Island to help improve the ferry service there.
McKenna said protestors are prepared to stay aboard the Astron W long enough to confirm that it won't be leaving its current route.
"They're willing to stay, we're willing to stay on that deck there for two weeks if we got to," he said. "We have no clear indication that this is a reverse decision."
Fogo Island Mayor Andrew Shea said shortly after the town office closed Thursday he received a message saying the Astron W would be leaving for Bell Island.
Bell Island typically has two ferries, but the Beaumont Hamel ferry has been out of service for five days due to mechanical issues, leaving the island with only the MV Flanders.
Shea said it is typical of the province to relocate the ferry in the middle of the night.
Wabana Mayor Philip Tobin has been calling for a third ferry on the Bell Island run. He had asked to move the Astron W from Fogo Island to Bell Island.
This time, Shea said, Fogo Island didn't let the ferry go so easily.
"We outsmarted them because we were watching for this to happen, and when we got word of it, we acted immediately and came over and occupied the ferry," he said.
The occupation started during the early hours of Friday morning.
Bell Island ferry running on load and go basis
On the Bell Island ferry run, the MV Flanders was operating on a load and go basis as of Friday.
In an update from the Department of Transportation, spokesperson Maria Browne said the ferry will continue operating on a load and go basis until the MV Beaumont Hamel returns to service.
Back on Fogo Island, at the same time that protestors occupied the Astron W on Friday, the area's other ferry — the MV Veteran — went out of service due to mechanical issues.
The situation leaves both small islands in a precarious state that the Wabana mayor says is both troubling and concerning.
"The MV Flanders is 35 years old and with that comes constant mechanical issues and constant downtime issues, which affect the everyday livelihoods of the people on Bell Island," Tobin told CBC on Friday.
Summertime is also Bell Island's peak season for tourism and business, according to Tobin. The ferry plays an essential part in the region's economy.
"We have hundreds of people on a daily basis traveling to [St. John's] just for work, for medical appointments, etcetera, right? And they're not able to get to work," said Tobin.
"It's just not acceptable what's going on."
Tobin said it's time for the province to take accountability for the faltering ferry system and the tension it's creating between two rural communities.
In an interview on Friday, before Fogo Island's Veteran went out of service, Transportation Minister Elvis Loveless said the department decided to temporarily move the Astron W to Bell Island for that reason.
"We try to do what we can to accommodate them because we know … it's in peak time that people are traveling," said Loveless.
However, he added, there are a number of "unknowns," including when the Beaumont Hamel will be back on the water.
McKenna, also the PCs transportation critic, says it's a matter of government neglect.
"Scheduled maintenance and regulatory inspections are poorly planned. The Liberals have not made sure that there is an appropriately sized swing vessel," he wrote in a statement on Friday.
CBC News has asked the Department of Transportation and Infrastructure for additional comment.
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With files from On The Go, Adam Walsh, and Elizabeth Whitten