Ice-jammed ferry in strait off Newfoundland wears down passenger patience
CBC
Passengers who have already waited a week or more to board a ferry between northern Newfoundland and southern Quebec are growing increasingly frustrated by sea ice that has filled the Strait of Belle Isle.
Glynis Penney, who has been anxiously waiting for the ice to clear off St. Barbe on the Newfoundland side of the waterway, told CBC News she is is running out of more than just patience.
"We left home on the 27th of February for a doctor's appointment, which took about 15 minutes, and we've been here ever since. I was ready to go back [last] Tuesday," she said.
"We've now run out of medication. Both my husband and I are on medication, we're both on blood pressure medication. [It's] stressful, very stressful."
She and her husband are travelling home to Labrador via the ferry terminal at Blanc-Sablon, Que., on the provincial border. It's a distance of about 45 kilometres and takes a little under two hours to complete in good weather.
The ferry MV Apollo has been stuck for over a week in St. Barbe, on Newfoundland's Northern Peninsula, waiting for a break in the thick sea ice so it can sail across the strait.
The delay bubbled over on Sunday, with about 20 people staging a peaceful protest to voice their frustrations at not being able to get home.
- Police called to end protest on Strait of Belle Isle ferry
Icebreakers have been unable to get through to assist the Apollo, and further south in the province Marine Atlantic ferries have been delayed due to heavy ice in the Cabot Strait.
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