Northumberland Ferries says it hopes to have the MV Saaremaa sailing again between Nova Scotia and PEI next Wednesday. It says repairs to the MV Saaremaa’s #3 main engine will continue through the weekend and Monday, and then final testing would be conducted Monday night and Tuesday. Northumberland Ferries says that provided inspection and certification of the repairs are successful, MV Saaremaa will begin service from Caribou Wednesday morning with the 8:30am crossing. It would then operate on the four-trip schedule implemented after the MV Confederation was damaged. The ferry company says repairs continue on the damaged MV Confederation, and it hopes to have a schedule for the repairs on Monday.
Pictou Mayor Jim Ryan says disruptions to the ferry service have been challenging for the town’s tourism industry. Ryan says tourists routinely stop in the town as they make their way to the ferry terminal in Caribou, but that hasn’t happened since the ferry was pulled from service earlier this week. He says without ferry service, people travelling to PEI will likely take the Confederation Bridge and bypass Pictou entirely.
Gasoline prices went down overnight in Nova Scotia, while diesel prices rose slightly. Regular gasoline prices decreased by 1.5 cents per litre, putting the minimum pump price for regular self-serve gasoline at 152.3 cents per litre locally. Diesel prices increased by 1.1 cents per litre, putting the minimum pump price for diesel at 160.2 cents per litre in the local area.
The Nova Scotia government is putting almost 22 million dollars towards a suite of sustainable development and energy efficiency programs. On Thursday, the province announced the added funding that’s aimed at supporting the net-zero construction sector. One of the new programs included is an affordable rental construction pilot, which government says will provide financial incentives to private and non-profit developers to build net-zero affordable housing. It will also top up an existing program that funds housing providers’ energy efficiency improvements, so long as the provider of the housing commits to long-term affordable rent.
A sports note, in the Maritime Junior Hockey League last night, the Pictou County Weeks Crushers lost 8-3 to the Summerside Western Capitals.
