Bell Islanders herald arrival of game-changing MV Legionnaire

After a long wait filled with delays, cost-overruns, and false starts, the people of Bell Island are celebrating the highly anticipated arrival of the brand new MV Legionnaire commuter ferry on the tickle today.

A welcoming ceremony and ribbon cutting took place on Monday morning, and regular service is set to begin at 3:30 p.m.

Wabana Mayor GaryGosine, who was also celebrating his60thbirthday, said the ferry's launch was a day he never saw coming.

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"I'm emotional because this here today is Bell Island's reality," he said.

"There's no doubt that this is going to pay off and there's no happier man than I am."

The mood was jubilant as community members took their first tour of the new ferry.

"The people are going to think that they're on an ocean liner," says Bell Island Ferry Users Committee chair Teresita McCarthy.

"It is so much bigger. It's brand new. It has lovely lounges that the Flanders doesn't have. It has a play space for the children. It is just absolutely beautiful."

Shorter wait times

McCarthy said Bell Island's ferry service is the busiest in the province, with over 400 people commuting to and fromthe island every day.

She believes the new ferry will help put an end to the many frustrating delays and long waits to get on the ferry on both sides of the tickle.

"Now we have a vessel that can take pretty much twice what the Flanders takes," she said.

"We're hoping the length of the lineups will be shorter, not necessarily in length but in wait times, and that people will be able to travel to and from Bell Island much more efficiently and expediently."

The MV Legionnaire will be able to handle 64 cars compared to around 37 on the MV Flanders, meaning that travelling to Bell Island for tourists and residents alike is about to get much more streamlined.

On Friday, as the Legionnaire conducted test-runs and residents of the island watched on as the MV Legionnaireand the MV Flanders each crossed the tickle at the same time, one Bell Islander summed up the difference the vessel will make to McCarthy.

"[He] passed our car and said 'Oh my god, this is nothing short of a miracle."'