North Sydney (Port)

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Marine Atlantic ferry schedule delayed due to sea ice

Heavy ice is playing havoc with the ferry schedule between North Sydney and Newfoundland. Each Marine Atlantic crossing is taking a couple of hours longer than usual, as the vessels make their way through the ice in the Cabot Strait. Marine Atlantic has cancelled its daytime crossing today from North Sydney to Port aux Basques.Darrell Mercer, speaking for Marine Atlantic, says the conditions are making it very difficult to maintain a regular schedule."The effect that we're seeing on that is of course, if it's taking two to three hours longer for each crossing then it starts to back up our schedule a little bit by the time we offload and load and move again. So that's why we've got some schedule impacts and advising customers to check our website before they head to the terminals," he says. Mercer says the ice conditions are the worst they've been in years.The ferry that normally travels from the Magdalen Islands to Prince Edward Island has been forced to change its route completely, as well. It's running instead from the Magdalens to North Sydney source : CBC news

Ice conditions in Cabot Strait worst in three decades

NORTH SYDNEY — The worst ice conditions in years have led to the Canadian Coast Guard's largest icebreaker, Louis Saint Laurent, being put on standby to assist any vessels in the Cabot Strait. "We are seeing the most severe ice conditions along northern Cabot Strait between Cape North and Port aux Basques," said Rebecca Acton-Bond, Canadian Coast Guard acting superintendent of ice operations, Atlantic region. "There is a band of severe ice conditions extending 45 nautical miles to the north east of Cape North (Cape Breton). This section is composed of ice that is between one to four feet thick, in floes that are between 500-2000 m large. " Acton-Bond said with the forecasted winds from the west for this weekend, along with the currents, this ice will continue to drift to the southeast. "We monitor the ice every day, pretty much hourly," she said. "The ice in all of the Atlantic region is above its 30-year average. The Cabot Strait has much more ice than in previous years." Source: http://www.capebretonpost.com/News/Local/2015-02-27/article-4060150/Ice-conditions-in-Cabot-Strait-worst-in-three-decades/1