Northern Ranger to sail again on Labrador coast

People on the north coast of Labrador could be seeing a familiar ship dockingthis summer.

Less than two years after the ship was retired, the Mushuau Innu First Nation hasbought the MV Northern Rangerto serve Natuashish, and possibly other communities on the Labrador coast.

It will initially be used as a freighter to deliver cargo, but the MIFNhopes eventually to bring passengers on board as well.

John Nui, chief of Natuashish,says the short shipping season contributed to the purchasing of the ship, which previously sailed on Labrador waters for over three decades.

"It's a very short season in summer and we have a lot of things to do in our communities," Nui told CBC Radio's Labrador Morning on Friday."Purchasing this boat will give us this chance to deliver our goods and all the stuff we need for our community."

The Northern Ranger made its final voyage in 2018 and was replaced by the Kamutik W in 2019.

Owned by Woodward's Group of Companies, the Kamutikhas faced sustained criticism from residents along the coastover the summer.

Nui disagrees the service offered by Woodward's was inadequate.

"The services [have] been very challenging over the past few months, and we're certainly not trying to take away the services that was provided by Woodward's. Butwe're just taking the opportunity that we have and [trying] to make it more useful for, and beneficial for, all the coastal communities," Nui said.

The chief didn't want to discuss how much the Northern Ranger cost the MIFN, saying that there was a "significant amount put into this,"but he hopes that people in Natuashish and along the coast takeadvantage of the service.

The vessel is owned by the MIFNand will be operatedby the company Canship Innu Marine LP.

The company told CBC News in a statement it plans to "make maximum use" of the ferry during the shipping window following a refit,and "pursue other alternatives during the rest of the year to encourage economic development and tourism."

Woodward's confident in new ferry

Woodward's CEO Peter Woodwardsays the Northern Ranger is old technology that will cost a lot of money in maintenance.

"Because the vessel is 33, 34 years old this year, it's very difficult to maintain.I know that the last year it went into overhaul for the provincial government, they spent in excess of five million dollars overhauling the ship," Woodward said.

"Itdoesn't have any vehicle capacity. It has a very limited cargo capacity, so I suspect [passengers will] continue to be using our service," Woodward said of the Kamutik."I'm very confident that we bought the right vessel."

If everything goes smoothly, the Northern Ranger could be docking in Natuashish this summer.

Tentative plans call for the ferry to depart fromNatuashish, Happy Valley Goose-Bay and potentially Lewisporte.

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