The Honourable Rob Merrifield, Minister of State (Transport), Rob Crosbie, chair of Marine Atlantic Inc.’s (MAI) board of directors, and Wayne Follett, president and chief executive officer of MAI, announced that Marine Atlantic has reached an agreement with Stena Group of Companies to charter two new vessels. The vessels will significantly improve MAI’s ability to provide on-time, reliable service and meet increasing traffic demand between North Sydney, and Newfoundland and Labrador. “Our government is supporting Canada’s economy by investing in new ships to improve Marine Atlantic’s service and reliability,” said Minister Merrifield. “This investment, from Budget 2010, is another signal of our government’s commitment to Atlantic Canada.