MV Legionnaire docks in St. John's after months of delay

The MV Legionnaire arrived in Newfoundland this week, months after it was first scheduled to service the Bell Island route.

• MV Legionnaire on its way to N.L. after long wait in Romania

The passenger ferry was moored in St. John's on Tuesday morning, following months of hold up in Europe.

The $50-million boat was scheduled to begin the Bell Island-Portugal Cove route earlier this year, but was delayed as construction work on the Portugal Cove wharf ran longer than anticipated.

• $1.3M and counting: Wharf upgrades for new Bell Island ferry over budget

The Legionnaire is the sister vessel of the MV Veteran, which was beset by problems since arriving in Newfoundland in December 2015.

The boat was taken out of service multiple times, and Transportation Minister Al Hawkins has said he wanted any necessary work undertaken to fix the Veteran replicated on the Legionnaire. Both boats were built by Damen Shipyards in Romania.

According to the Department of Transportation and Works, it costs $51,000 a month to keep the Legionnaire docked in Europe and an additional $36,000 for dry-docking before departure.

The provincial government and Damen have been negotiating about who will pay those fees.