MV Veteran undergoing sea trials, final repairs being made

The MV Veteran, which has seemingly been plagued with mechanical issues since its arrival in the province in December, has been visible in St. John's harbour overthe past couple of days.

The vessel has been out of service on theFogoIsland-Change Islands-Farewell ferry run for more than five weeks.Repairs to the starboard propulsion unit have been ongoingin St. John's.

The $50-million ferry was put intoservice Dec. 20, replacing the aging MVCapt. Earl W.Winsor.

However, it has spent much of that time out of service, and the Winsor was brought back into service in early February. For a couple of days beforehand, theDepartment of Transportation and Works even had to line up air services as a contingency.

But even the Winsor ran into trouble. In February,a dump truck carrying a mixture of sand and salt on board theWinsorplunged into the water at Change Islands.The vessel had been unloading vehicles and passengers at the time of the incident. Thetruck driver managed to escape unharmed.

Fixed wing services were put into place while the Winsor was put in for repair.

Sea trials undertaken

In an email to CBC on Wednesday, aspokesperson from the Department of Transportation and Works said "sea trials and final repairs" were underway.

"Sea trials were undertaken and visible Tuesday in St. John's harbour and outside the Narrows," the statement said.

The spokesperson said the department is anticipating an update soon, for the Veteran's return to service on the Fogo Island-Change Islands-Farewell ferry run.