MV FLANDERS

General information

Course/Position

Latest news

Ferry sidelined after fire

The "Flanders" suffered a small fire on Jan 20, 2016, and was docked at Long Pond, where engineers were attempting to rectify the problem. Trucks were on standby, waiting to bring much-needed food and fuel to the island. It took 24 hours for a helicopter to become operational after it was requested. In the night of Jan 22, at 1 a.m. one member of the town faced a medical emergency. A Cormorant was dispatched to help the man, and he was transported to St. John's. If the ferry had been running, the person would have been taken to Portugal Cove on the ferry, and then transported to St. John's via ambulance. is expected to resume on Saturday afternoon. The Department of Transportation and Works sent the "Beaumont Hamel" from St. John's harbour to transport people between Bell Island and Portugal Cove. The vessel left the harbour in the morning of Jan 23 and was expected to begin transporting passengers to Bell Island at 12:30 p.m.

Repairs of steering gear completed

The "Flanders" was expected in Portugal Cove in the evening of Jan 20 to resume service between Portugal Cove and Bell Island. The Department of Transportation and Works announced that the mechanical repairs to the ship's steering have been completed. The "Grace Sparkes" then departed for St. Brendan’s with service expected to resume on Jan 21.

Ferry encountered steering problems

Temporary vessel reassignments were announced on Jan 15, 2014, for ferry operations on the Bell Island and St. Brendan’s runs after the "Flanders" was withdrawn from service for mechanical repairs and was expected to be off the run for several days. The "Flanders" has encountered steering problems. The "Galatea" continued to service Bell Island as weather permits and the "Grace Sparkes" — which had been on the St. Brendan's run — was expected to be added to the Bell Island run. A contingency helicopter service was provided to St. Brendan’s in the interim.