MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood
Encyclopedia
MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood was a Marine Atlantic
passenger/vehicle ferry
which operated between Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island
in eastern Canada
. She is named after one of the former Newfoundland and Labrador
premiers, Joseph R. Smallwood and his wife Clara.
, and is specifically designed for the 280 nautical mile (520 km) seasonal route across the Cabot Strait
between North Sydney, Nova Scotia
and Argentia, Newfoundland and Labrador
. A roll-on, roll-off design with a bow visor
, the Joseph and Clara Smallwood has 2 vehicle decks and 5 decks above, the main passenger deck being Deck 5. She measures 179 metres in overall length and 25 metres in breadth, weighing 27,614 tons. Her capacity includes 1,200 passengers and 370 automobile
s or 77 tractor trailers. She had up to 106 crewmembers.
Her sister ship, '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 MV Caribou and MV 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 crushing the ice underneath. This design permits the sister ships to maintain close to regular operating speed.
. As of March 10, 2011, the Smallwood has been retired to make way for the and which are on a 5 year charter from Stena Line
.
. Her name was shortened to MV Smallwood and she sailed to Alang, India
for scrap along with her elder sister MV Caribo
.
Marine Atlantic
Marine Atlantic Inc. is an independent Canadian Crown corporation offering ferry services between the provinces of Newfoundland and Labrador and Nova Scotia.Marine Atlantic's corporate headquarters are in St...
passenger/vehicle ferry
Ferry
A ferry is a form of transportation, usually a boat, but sometimes a ship, used to carry primarily passengers, and sometimes vehicles and cargo as well, across a body of water. Most ferries operate on regular, frequent, return services...
which operated between Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island
Cape Breton Island is an island on the Atlantic coast of North America. It likely corresponds to the word Breton, the French demonym for Brittany....
in eastern Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
. She is named after one of the former Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador
Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada. Situated in the country's Atlantic region, it incorporates the island of Newfoundland and mainland Labrador with a combined area of . As of April 2011, the province's estimated population is 508,400...
premiers, Joseph R. Smallwood and his wife Clara.
Concept and construction
Entering service in 1989, she was built by MIL Davie Incorporated in Lauzon, QuebecLauzon, Quebec
Lauzon is a former city in southern Quebec, Canada, located on the St. Lawrence River northeast of Lévis. Founded in 1910, Lauzon had a population of about 14,500 when it merged with Lévis in 1989...
, and is specifically designed for the 280 nautical mile (520 km) seasonal route across the Cabot Strait
Cabot Strait
Cabot Strait is a strait in eastern Canada approximately 110 kilometres wide between Cape Ray, Newfoundland and Cape North, Cape Breton Island. It is the widest of the three outlets for the Gulf of Saint Lawrence into the Atlantic Ocean, the others being the Strait of Belle Isle and Strait of Canso...
between North Sydney, Nova Scotia
North Sydney, Nova Scotia
North Sydney is a community in Nova Scotia's Cape Breton Regional Municipality.Located on the north side of Sydney Harbour, along the eastern coast of Cape Breton Island, North Sydney is an important port in Atlantic Canada as it is the western terminus of the Marine Atlantic ferry service...
and Argentia, Newfoundland and Labrador
Argentia, Newfoundland and Labrador
Argentia is a community on the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It is situated on a flat headland located along the southwest coast of the Avalon Peninsula on Placentia Bay...
. A roll-on, roll-off design with a bow visor
Bow visor
A bow visor is a feature of some ships, in particular ferries and ROROs, that allows the bow to articulate up and down, providing access to the cargo ramp and storage deck near the water line. In modern ferry design over the last 25 years, though, bow visors have given way to clam doors which act...
, the Joseph and Clara Smallwood has 2 vehicle decks and 5 decks above, the main passenger deck being Deck 5. She measures 179 metres in overall length and 25 metres in breadth, weighing 27,614 tons. Her capacity includes 1,200 passengers and 370 automobile
Automobile
An automobile, autocar, motor car or car is a wheeled motor vehicle used for transporting passengers, which also carries its own engine or motor...
s or 77 tractor trailers. She had up to 106 crewmembers.
Her sister ship, 's design had been commissioned by CN Marine
CN Marine
CN Marine was a Canadian ferry company headquartered in Moncton, New Brunswick.-History:CN Marine was created by parent Canadian National Railway in 1977 as a means to group the company's ferry operations in eastern Canada into a separate operating division...
in the early 1980s and was the culmination of years of research into effective icebreaking ship designs. The resulting hull design which MV Caribou and MV 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
Sea ice
Sea ice is largely formed from seawater that freezes. Because the oceans consist of saltwater, this occurs below the freezing point of pure water, at about -1.8 °C ....
, rather than using its weight to ride up onto and crushing the ice underneath. This design permits the sister ships to maintain close to regular operating speed.
Service history
After MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood replaced in 1989, the North Sydney-Argentia crossing was reduced from 18 hours to a 14 hour schedule. During the northern hemisphere fall, winter and spring seasons, MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood joined her sister ship Caribou, along with on Marine Atlantic's 96 nautical mile (178 km) primary route between North Sydney, NS and Channel-Port aux Basques, NLChannel-Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador
Channel-Port aux Basques is a town at the extreme southwestern tip of the island of Newfoundland fronting on the eastern end of the Cabot Strait. A Marine Atlantic ferry terminal is located in the town which is the primary entry point onto the island of Newfoundland and the western terminus of...
. As of March 10, 2011, the Smallwood has been retired to make way for the and which are on a 5 year charter from Stena Line
Stena Line
Stena Line is one of the world's largest ferry operators, with ferry services serving Scotland, Sweden, Northern Ireland, Denmark, Norway, England, Wales, Ireland, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland. Stena Line is a major unit of Stena AB, itself a part of the Stena Sphere, a grouping of Stena AB,...
.
Sale
On August 11, 2011, it was announced that MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood had been sold to a company from the Marshall IslandsMarshall Islands
The Republic of the Marshall Islands , , is a Micronesian nation of atolls and islands in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, just west of the International Date Line and just north of the Equator. As of July 2011 the population was 67,182...
. Her name was shortened to MV Smallwood and she sailed to Alang, India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
for scrap along with her elder sister MV Caribo
MV Caribou
MV Caribou was a Marine Atlantic passenger/vehicle ferry which operated between the islands of Newfoundland and Cape Breton in eastern Canada....
.