Engine failure prompts mayday from N.L. ferry

Weeks after a public warning that an aging ferrywould likely have a mechanical failure,the vessel's engine stopped off Newfoundland's northeast coastand forced the skipper to send a mayday.

Passengers and crew members prepared to abandon ship after the 43-year-old MV Inch Arran broke down near Little Bay Islandsin Notre Dame Bay on Wednesday only four days after the breakdown of another old ferry that was also criticized by consultants in October.

The report on the province's aging ferry fleet,preparedby BMT Fleet Technology Ltd. and released publicly on Oct. 6, singled out theInch Arran for criticism and warned thatitwas at "high risk of major machinery failure."

Less than three weeks later, the Inch Arran's only engine quit amid rough seas and strong winds.

The 33.5-metre ferry was only about a third of the way on its journey from the Little Bay Islandswhen it began to drift toward rocks. The skipper lowered the anchor and put out a mayday.

"It's an accident waiting to happen, and just an act of God that it didn't go ashore this morning," George Wiseman, one of four passengers aboard, later said.

Life-raft didn't inflate

The six crew members aboard lowered onelife-raft to the water but found it wouldn't inflate. Asecondone inflated properly.

Threefishing vessels from the area went alongside the ferry, ready to take off passengers if needed.

'It wasn't looking that good when we got there.' -Colin Weir, alongliner captain who went out to help

"It wasn't looking that good when we got there," said Colin Weir, one of three longliner captains who steamed out to help.

However, the ferry's crew was able to restart the engine and bring the vesselto port in Shoal Arm, Notre Dame Bay.

"They got off lucky here today," said Perry Locke, the mayor of Little Bay Islands, who credited the crew for how they handled what he described as a close call.

All further crossings have been cancelled for the time being.

St. Brendan's ferry broke down 4 days earlier

Another aging ferry, the MV Sound of Islay, broke down on Oct. 21, soon after being put into service as the replacement vessel on the run to the Bonavista Bay island of St. Brendan's.

The BMT reportfound that the Sound of Islay was also athigh risk of machinery failure.

Overall, the consultantsfound that some of Newfoundland and Labrador'sferries are so old that maintenance is hampered because parts are no longer made for them.

The Newfoundland and Labrador government issued contracts in October to build two new ferries.

The BMT report recommended building at least eight new ferries, while streamlining the provincial ferry service to islands and remote communities.