Ferry in Tsiigehtchic, N.W.T., reopens after 5-day closure

The N.W.T. department of Infrastructure saystheMV Louis Cardinal ferry outside of Tsiigehtchic is back on the water as of Tuesday afternoon.

It, along with the Peel River ferry, will stay open longer than usual to get as much traffic moving as possible, the department said in an update Tuesday.

The MV Louis Cardinal, which crosses the Mackenzie River atthe Dempster Highway, had been out of commission since Thursday afternoon.

TheInfrastructure department posted on itsFacebook page that the issue was mechanical and essential to the operation of the ferry.

The government had saidthat the cause was due to the fire suppression system on the ferry needing maintenance. It has not been confirmed yet if there was a fault or what the nature of the repairs were.

On Tuesday morning, Infrastructure said in a Facebook post that it had found the needed parts to complete the repairs. Once the work was done, the ferry had to pass an inspection by Transport Canada to begin operating again.

The ferry's closure left some tourists stranded andwaiting to continue their trips south.

One touristfrom Finland told CBC News on Friday thathe was supposed to be hiking in the Yukon on Monday but he expected the ferryclosure would cancel that outing.

Other tourists were less worriedon Friday, resting in campers on the back of pickup trucks while they waited.

Matt Best and Amber Balmforth from the U.K.said theirtrip was a long time planned, but anextra few days' delay wouldn't affect them much as they did not have a schedule going back. The couple got engaged while in Tuktoyaktuk and were celebrating on the way back. Best said they would head back to Inuvik if the delay was longer than a few days.

"It's quite fun for now, but two or three days in, it probably won't be as much fun, you know," said Best.