CORNER BROOK, Nfld. (Feb. 14, 2005) – The company looking to launch a new cargo ferry link between Corner Brook and Belledune, N.B. wants to know if there’s still any interest from truckers.

Rigel Shipping recently met with officials from both ports and told them it wanted to conduct a marketing survey and consult stakeholders to reaffirm their commitment to the ferry, according to the St. John’s Telegram.

The ferry plan has been on a bureaucratic roller-coaster for the last few years.

The original plan was to have the ferry up and running not long after plans were first made public four years ago, but a series of delays has kept pushing the date back. The ferry could not begin operations until the western Newfoundland port was handed over to the not-for-profit corporation from Transport Canada.

That divestiture was finally completed last November, but the new cargo ferry still hasn’t set sail.

Ultimately, it’s the trucking industry that will decide if the ferry is a go. Rigel Shipping’s president Brian Ritchie told the Telegram that the company would take the rest of the month to gauge whether there’s enough volume support and commitment from carriers and owner-ops.

Ritchie said there are other factors to consider before launching the ferry, such as rising fuel prices, the rising cost of roll-on-roll-off vessels, and the fact Oceanex is going to add a fourth ship to its cargo fleet.

If the company gets enough positive response from the industry, then Ritchie says it will proceed and hopefully begin services by the start of summer. But if the numbers don’t make enough economic sense, then it’s likely the project will be shelved, he said.

— from the St. John’s Telegram