The province of New Brunswick will take delivery next October of a new car ferry for the run between and L'Etete on the mainland and Deer Island in the Bay of Fundy. Currently under construction at the Hike Metal Products yard on Lake Erie in Ontario, the new ferry will make her delivery trip down the St. Lawrence Seaway and River before rounding Nova Scotia to her operation route just north of the Canada-U.S. border at the point where Passamaquoddy Bay meets the Bay of Fundy. Noted for its huge tides, the Bay can present current challenges, but the new ferry's design includes a pair of Z-drives set fore and aft on the corners. The Rolls Royce Ulstein drives will each be powered by a six-cylinder Cummins KTA19 engine producing 550 hp at 1,800 rpm.
Measuring 140 x 40 ft., (42.6 x 12.1 m) the all-steel (with the exception of the wheelhouse) flat-decked RoRo ferry is equipped with ramps at either end; its wheelhouse is set on a bridge over the car deck. The ferry is designed to carry up to 24 full size passenger cars stowed in three lanes of eight automobiles and 95 passengers and four crew.
Seating is provided in the accommodation for 14 persons plus a wheelchair allowing a minimum of 45.7 cm seat width per person. The three lanes for cars are arranged with ramps for and aft, while the Z-drives and engine houses are located on one side fore and aft. A small workshop and washrooms as well as accommodations for passengers and crew are arranged down one side.
Life rafts and a RIB rescue boat are located atop the accommodation.