MV Abegweit

The motor vessel "Abegweit" was the name for two different icebreaking railway, vehicle, and passenger ferries which operated across the Abegweit Passage of Northumberland Strait, connecting Port Borden to Cape Tormentine between 1947-1997.

The word Abegweit is derived from the Mi'kmaq word for Prince Edward Island, "Epekwit'k", meaning "cradled (or cradle) on the waves."

MV "Abegweit" (1947–1982)

The first MV "Abegweit" was laid down as hull 144 in November 1944 and was launched in 1946 at the Marine Industries Limited shipyard in Sorel, Quebec. Her designers were the famous Montreal design firm of German & Milne. Her owners were Canadian National Railways (CNR), operator of the Borden-Tormentine service from 1918-1977.

This vessel was the most powerful icebreaker in the world at the time of her commissioning on June 28, 1947 and was reportedly the heaviest vessel ever constructed in Canada as well. Her patron at the time of commissioning was Mrs. J. Walter Jones, wife of the premier of Prince Edward Island. She entered service on August 14, 1947 and earned the hearts of Islanders who affectionately called her the "Abby".

She measured 372 feet in length and displaced 7,000 tons. Her 8 main engines generated 13,500 brake horsepower (10 MW) and drove propellers in the stern, as well as at the bow. She could carry 950 passengers and 60 cars (or one complete passenger train of 16 railway cars).

Unfortunately the growth of vehicle and rail traffic by the 1950s soon made her obsolete and subsequent vessels introduced in the 1960s and 1970s could carry more vehicles and rail traffic and could load and unload with greater speed.

After her retirement, Abegweit was purchased by, and now serves as, the center of operations for the Columbia Yacht Club in Chicago, Illinois.

MV "Abegweit" (1982–2004)

In the late 1970s, CN (name change in 1960) underwent a corporate reorganization which saw all of its ferry services placed under a separate Crown corporation named CN Marine. CN Marine began the process of planning the design with German & Milne for a replacement of the MV "Abegweit".

The new vessel was to be named MV "Straitway" and unlike the MV "Abegweit", was designed as a RO-RO vessel which permitted faster loading and unloading. She was also custom designed for the protected waters of Northumberland Strait. This permitted German & Milne to depart from traditional vessel design by eliminating the need for a conventional hull and bow.

The new vessel was laid down as hull 1136 at Saint John Shipbuilding and Dry Dock in Saint John, New Brunswick and was launched in the fall of 1981. While the new vessel was still in the midst of construction in late 1981, it was decided that the name MV "Straitway" would be changed to MV "Abegweit", the same name as the vessel soon to leave service. Since the new vessel would be taking the same name, it was necessary to rename the original vessel for its last months of service. The name chosen for the old vessel was MV "Abby" and she finished service when the new MV "Abegweit" entered service in 1982.

During the winter of 1982–1983, while the new MV "Abegweit" was in service between Borden and Tormentine, the old MV "Abby" was docked at Pictou, Nova Scotia and advertised for sale by CN Marine. She was purchased by the Columbia Yacht Club in Chicago, Illinois who were not permitted by city ordinances to construct a clubhouse on the waterfront, therefore the club decided to purchase the MV "Abby" and permanently moor her at their facility. She left the Northumberland Strait for good in April, 1983 and remains in "service" in Chicago. A curious phenomenon arising out of CN Marine's name-switch operation is that many in the general public assume the new vessel's name was "Abegweit II" - this is not the case as she was officially registered as MV "Abegweit".

The new MV "Abegweit" was a much larger and more capable vessel - the largest on the Northumberland Strait service and she became the flagship of this route. Measuring 401 feet (122 m) in length and displacing 12,000 tons, she had 6 main engines which generated 18,000 brake horsepower (13 MW) which drove 2 stern propellers and 2 bow thrusters and 1 stern thruster. She could carry 974 passengers and 250 cars (or 40 trucks or 20 railway cars) and had a hoistable car deck which doubled the number of cars on the B/C decks.

In 1986, the federal government reorganized its east coast ferry services and changed the name of the Crown corporation from CN Marine to Marine Atlantic. On December 31, 1989 the MV "Abegweit"'s sister icebreaking ferry MV "John Hamilton Gray" carried the last railway cars off Prince Edward Island with the abandonment of CN service on the island (see Prince Edward Island Railway).

Also in 1986, talk of a "fixed link" to replace the Borden-Tormentine ferry service was revived and a January 18 1988 plebiscite saw a 60% approval for design and construction of such a structure. On May 31, 1997 the Confederation Bridge was opened and the ferry service closed. MV "Abegweit" was used as a cargo vessel to haul Marine Atlantic equipment located at Borden and Cape Tormentine to the corporation's dock and storage facilities at North Sydney, Nova Scotia to be used on its Cabot Strait service. MV "Abegweit" then tied up at the Sydport Industrial Park at Point Edward, Nova Scotia on the west shore of Sydney Harbour and was placed for sale.

Due to her relatively young age, Marine Atlantic had considered retrofitting the MV "Abegweit" with a hurricane bow and to lengthen to use her on the Cabot Strait service but the cost estimates for such modifications proved too costly, therefore she was declared surplus. MV "Abegweit" languished for 2 years without moving at Sydport before being sold in July 1999 to a firm named "Accrued Investments Inc." in Houston, Texas. MV "Abegweit" was renamed MV "Accrued Mariner" and sailed to the port of Galveston, Texas that month.

The new owners were supposedly examining the possibility of using MV "Accrued Mariner" as a freight/railway ferry in the Great Lakes or possibly in the Gulf of Mexico but she was never used and languished in Galveston until February 2004. During this time she was again advertised for sale with a price of $6 million USD at one point. She was sold in January 2004 to a company named "Pelican Marine" in India. Her name was changed to MV "Mariner" under the registered owner of "Bridgend Shipping Ltd." in Kingstown, St. Vincent. She sailed from Galveston at the end of February 2004 under the operation and management of "Jupiter Shipmanagement" (India). To burn off the fuel still onboard from her days at Marine Atlantic (some of which was topped off by Accrued Investments), she was operated at reduced speed on 2 engines and crossed the Atlantic Ocean, Mediterranean Sea, Suez Canal, Red Sea, and Indian Ocean, arriving at the Alang Shipbreaking Yards in Alang, India in early May, 2004.

The Lloyd's Registry shows her as being scrapped on May 9, 2004.