MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood

Docking in Argentia, Newfoundland and Labrador
History
Name	Joseph and Clara Smallwood (1989–2011) Smallwood (2011)
Owner	Government of Canada
Operator	Marine Atlantic[1]
Port of registry	St. John's
Route	Channel-Port aux Basques–North Sydney (fall, winter, spring) Argentia–North Sydney (summer)
Ordered	1987
Builder	MIL-Davie Shipbuilding, Lauzon
Laid down	1987
Launched	1989
Christened	1989
Completed	1989
Maiden voyage	1989
In service	1989
Out of service	2011
Identification	IMO number 8604797
Fate	Broken up in 2011
General characteristics (as built)
Class and type	Gulfspan class icebreaking ropax ferry
Tonnage	27,615 GT
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	Lloyd's 100A1, Northern Baltic 1A Super
Installed power	4 × MaK 8-cylinder diesels combined 20600 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	106 (summer), 68 (winter)

MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood was a Marine Atlantic[1] passenger/vehicle ferry which operated in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, between Newfoundland and Cape Breton Island in eastern Canada.

She is named after former Newfoundland premier Joseph R. Smallwood and his wife Clara.

Concept and construction

MV Joseph and Clara Smallwood entering service in 1989, she was built by MIL Davie Incorporated in Lauzon, Quebec, and was specifically designed for the 520 km (280 nmi) seasonal route between North Sydney, Nova Scotia and Argentia, Newfoundland and Labrador.[2] A roll-on, roll-off design with a bow visor, Joseph and Clara Smallwood had 2 vehicle decks and 5 decks above, the main passenger deck being Deck 5.[3] She measured 180 m (580 ft)[3] in overall length and 25 metres (82 ft) in breadth, weighing 27,614 tons. Her capacity included 1,200 passengers and 350 automobiles or 77 tractor trailers.[3] She had up to 106 crewmembers.

Joseph and Clara Smallwood was the sister ship to MV Caribou. Caribou was designed and commissioned by CN Marine in the early 1980s and was the culmination of years of research into effective icebreaking ship designs.[3] 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 ice-reinforced ships 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.^[citation needed]

Service history

Caribou and Joseph and Clara Smallwood laid up at Sydport in Edwardsville, Nova Scotia in March 2011.

After Joseph and Clara Smallwood replaced MV Ambrose Shea in 1989, the North Sydney-Argentia crossing was reduced from 18 hours to a 14-hour schedule. During the fall, winter and spring seasons, Joseph and Clara Smallwood joined her sister ship Caribou, along with MV Leif Ericson on Marine Atlantic's 178 km (96 nmi) primary route between North Sydney, Nova Scotia and Channel-Port aux Basques, Newfoundland and Labrador.[2] Joseph and Clara Smallwood was retired in March 2011, to make way for MV Blue Puttees and MV Highlanders which were on a five-year charter from Stena Line.

Sale

On August 11, 2011, it was announced that Joseph and Clara Smallwood had been sold to Merrion Navigation S.A. of the Marshall Islands.[4] Her name was shortened to Smallwood and she sailed to Alang, India and was scrapped along with her elder sister Caribou.[5]

References

1. "2011/12 – 2015/16 Corporate Plan Summary" (PDF). Marine Atlantic Canada. September 11, 2011. Retrieved August 31, 2024. ... to connect the Province of Newfoundland and Labrador with mainland Canada, Marine Atlantic Inc. is tasked with fulfilling the constitutional mandate to "maintain in accordance with the traffic offering a freight and passenger steamship service between North Sydney and Port aux Basques".
2. "A Modern Fleet. Historic Routes". Marine Atlantic. 2024. Retrieved August 31, 2024. ... offer passenger and commercial customers these vital connections between the Island of Newfoundland and Nova Scotia.
3. Gillis, Rannie (May 25, 2009). "M.V. Atlantic Vision is the new big boy of ferries". Cape Breton Post. Sydney, Nova Scotia. Archived from the original on March 3, 2016. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
4. Collins, Julie (August 11, 2011). "Marine Atlantic sells Caribou, Smallwood". Cape Breton Post. Sydney, Nova Scotia. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved February 24, 2013.
5. Thomas, Brodie (October 31, 2011). "Former ferries beached at Alang, India". The Gulf News. Port aux Basques, Newfoundland. Archived from the original on November 3, 2013. Retrieved February 24, 2013.