MV Caribou

MV Caribou was a Marine Atlantic passenger/vehicle ferry which operated between the islands of Newfoundland and Cape Breton in eastern Canada.

Caribou at North Sydney
History
Name	Caribou (1986–2011) Caribo (2011)
Owner	Government of Canada
Operator	Marine Atlantic
Port of registry	St. John's
Route	North Sydney, Nova Scotia - Channel-Port aux Basques, Newfoundland & Labrador
Ordered	1984
Builder	MIL-Davie Shipbuilding, Lauzon
Laid down	1984
Launched	1985
Completed	1986
In service	1986–2010
Identification	IMO number: 8301876
Fate	Broken up in 2011[1]
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type	Gulfspan class icebreaking ropax ferry
Tonnage	27,213 GT 3,662 DWT
Length	172.76 m (567 ft)
Beam	24.99 m (82 ft)
Draught	12.19 m (40 ft 0 in)
Ramps	shore-based bi-level ramps
Ice class	1A Super
Installed power	4 × MaK 8-cylinder diesels combined 20,600 kW
Propulsion	2 propellers 2 bow thrusters 2 stern thrusters
Speed	22 knots (41 km/h; 25 mph) (maximum) 15 knots (28 km/h; 17 mph) (service)
Capacity	1,200 passengers 370 cars, 77 trucks 1,800 m (5,906 ft) lane metres
Crew	108 (summer), 68 (winter)

Caribou was named in memory of her predecessor the SS Caribou which was sunk off Port aux Basques by a German U-boat on October 14, 1942 with the loss of 137 passengers and crew.

Entering service in 1986, she was built by Versatile Davie in Lauzon, Quebec, and is specifically designed to traverse the 178 km (96 nmi) route across the Cabot Strait between North Sydney, Nova Scotia and Channel-Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador.

MV Caribou and MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood laid up at Sydport in Point Edward, Sydney Harbour in March 2011.

A roll-on, roll-off design with a bow visor, Caribou had 2 vehicle decks and 5 decks above, the main passenger deck being Deck 5. She measured 179 metres in overall length and 25 metres in breadth, weighing 27,212 tons. Her capacity included 1,200 passengers and 370 automobiles or 77 tractor trailers. She had up to 106 crewmembers.

Caribou's design had been commissioned by CN Marine in the early 1980s and was the culmination of years of research into effective icebreaking ship designs. The resulting hull design which Caribou and Joseph and Clara Smallwood were built to is called "Gulfspan", named in part after the Gulf of St. Lawrence. The "Gulfspan" hull is unique among Canadian icebreakers in that the ship slices through sea ice, rather than using its weight to ride up onto and crush the ice underneath. This design permits the sister ships to maintain close to regular operating speed.

At the time that Caribou entered service in 1986, CN Marine underwent a restructuring whereby the company was separated from its parent CN Rail and renamed Marine Atlantic. At the same time, CN was beginning the process of abandoning all railway service on the island of Newfoundland, which had been operating as Terra Transport. Several ferry vessels were retired and/or sold at the time that Caribou entered service and these corporate restructuring changes were taking place.

Caribou regularly made the Cabot Strait crossing from North Sydney to Channel-Port aux Basques in approximately 5 hours, 30 minutes, however she had been known to break the 5 hour mark in optimum conditions but frequently comes closer to 6 hours as dictated by established schedules.

The ship was retired by Marine Atlantic on November 26, 2010 after completing her last run from Port aux Basques to North Sydney. She was laid up in Sydney Harbour until August 31, 2011.