The MV John Hamilton Gray was an icebreaking railway, vehicle, and passenger ferry which operated across the Abegweit Passage of Northumberland Strait, connecting Port Borden to Cape Tormentine between 1968-1997.
Career
Commissioned: 1968
Modernized: 1980 upper vehicle deck rear loading added, side loading hatch closed in, top-side wood outer decks removed; 1997 passenger deck overhauled into a casino
Region: Atlantic Canada (1968-1997); Gulf of Mexico (1998-2004)
Home Port: Borden, PEI (1968-1997); Palm Beach, FL (1998-2001); Port Aransas, TX (2001-2004)
Decommissioned: Marine Atlantic (1997); Contessa International (2004)
Fate: scrapped 2004
General characteristics
Displacement: 10,678 gross tons
Length: 122.1 metres
Beam: 21.09 metres
Draught: 6.19 metres
Propulsion: 8 main engines Fairbanks Morse 12 cylinder opposing piston 12-38D8-1/8
Power: 11,768 KW
Speed: 18 knots
Range:
Ice Class: 3 East Coast 100 A1
Passengers: 516
Complement:
Capacity: 165 car equivalents and 18 tractor trailers or 16 railway cars;
Named After: John Hamilton Gray, a Prince Edward Island Father of Confederation.
Career
Commissioned: 1981
Modernized: 1990 cheat line removed,1991 stern thruster added
Region:
Atlantic Canada
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.
Home Port:
Borden,PEI-Cape Tormentine,NB
Decommissioned: 1999, 2004
Fate: scrapped 2004
General characteristics
Displacement: 12,000 tons
Length: 401 feet
Beam:
70 feet
Draught:
20 feet
Propulsion:
6 main engines Ruston V16 diesel driven gear boxes
Speed:
18 knots
Range:
Ice Class:
1A Super Baltic
Complement:
Crew 34
Aircraft: None
Named After: QSMV Abegweit, retired in 1982.
