Premium bookings on Marine Atlantic prioritizing packages over groceries, trucking company says

A trucking company owner says Marine Atlantic's premium booking service is preventing smaller shipping companies from securing a spot on their ferries — leading to costly delays for essential items like groceries.

Chris Howlett, CEO of Akita Equipment and Auto Transport, says large couriers are snapping up expensive premium spots for their trucks of goods from the mainland, which he says contain consumer items like Amazon packages.

New Marine Atlantic rules allow shipping companies to book a premium spot on a ferry up to three months in advance, he says.

It's left Howlett's cargo repeatedly on the banks of Nova Scotia, unable to cross and deliver food to Newfoundland.

"This past weekend, I've seen upwards of 300 pieces of equipment checked in at Marine Atlantic, and still, there'll be more left in sequence numbers that were out in different parking lots that could not enter the parking lot or enter in," he said.

Howlett said it's been this way for the last three weeks. It's costing the company money, and it's affecting the quality of goods delivered to consumers.

Atika Equipment ships a variety of products, including construction equipment and groceries.

"Construction-related products, of course, this time of the year, everyone's trying to get things done ahead of the weather," Howlett said. "And then we got some of our clients that move groceries and products and stuff."

He said some fruits and vegetables are arriving in the province three and four days after their projected delivery date.

Premium crossings are non-refundable, but they can be transferred to another date in cases of weather cancellations. It's also free for commercial businesses to change the details of their crossing.

Howlett said premium crossings cost double the regular rate of commercial shipping. 

"They could be one of the bigger trucking companies in Canada that can look out a bit further north and have deeper pockets than us," he said.

"They could have been loads of lumber, they could have been Amazon packages, they could be courier packages. But none of them [contain] the stuff they should have moved, like groceries."

He's asking Marine Atlantic to be more transparent about why it's cancelling its ferry crossings and to make schedule adjustments when possible to offset the lengthy delays in recent weeks.

"When the wind dies down, and it dies down at 4 a.m. well, maybe the boat needs to be loaded and moved at that time," Howlett said. 

Vessel repairs

Colin Tibbo, Marine Atlantic's vice-president of customer experience, said this month's weather is playing a big role in cancellations — but the conditions of one of its ferries, the MV Leif Ericson, are also stifling operations.

"Leif Ericson is now a 33-year-old vessel," Tibbo said.

In combination with Newfoundland and Labrador's harsh environment, the ferry has experienced some wear and tear that takes time to fix.

"The issues with the Leif Ericson have been ongoing since August," he said. "It gets harder and harder to maintain and source parts."

As for premium bookings, Tibbo said the option isn't new, but the company has recently increased the number of spots set aside for customers who book them. The premium spots, he said, represent about 10 to 15 per cent of commercial spaces on each ferry. 

"They're not really being booked three months in advance today," he said. "We're going to assess the program as it continues to see how effective it is and see what the uptake is."

Tibbo confirmed that Marine Atlantic doesn't prioritize certain product shipments over others, but it is working to ensure goods arrive on time for the holidays. 

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