The ferry outside Tsiigehtchic has become the latest in the Northwest Territories to be taken out of service over a maintenance problem.
The NWT’s Department of Infrastructure said technicians were expected to arrive on Friday to assess the MV Louis Cardinal. The nature of the concern was not specified.
After this article was first published, in a fresh update at 4pm on Friday, the department said the ferry would remain out of use until at least Monday, July 8 and possibly longer.
Earlier, posting in an Inuvik Facebook group on Thursday, the GNWT said the ferry had been removed from service that day “until further notice due to maintenance issues.”
In the meantime, the ferry’s absence means it’s currently not possible to travel to and from Tsiigehtchic by vehicle, nor reach Inuvik and Tuktoyaktuk from the south by road.
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You can check the GNWT’s highway conditions page for the latest on Highway 8 – the Dempster Highway – which relies on the ferry to move vehicles across the Mackenzie River at Tsiigehtchic.
Last month, a similar fate befell the MV Johnny Berens, which serves the same purpose on Highway 1 south of Wrigley.
That ferry was ultimately out of action for nearly two weeks before service was restored.
The GNWT hasn’t yet published a timeline for repair work to the MV Louis Cardinal.
